


COLD BLOOD [BOOK 2 OF THE FEATHERED SERIES]

by BIGJUICY_69



Series: FEATHERED [HAIKYUU WING AU] [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!, Maximum Ride - James Patterson
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Arguing, Bird/Human Hybrids, Cat/Human Hybrids, Dealing With Trauma, Dirty Thoughts, Experiment Trauma, Fluff and Angst, Hiding, Homophobia, Human Experimentation, I'm Not Ashamed, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Sex, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, M/M, Past Torture, Psychological Torture, Running Away, Self-Defense, Shameless affection, Some little bit of sexy times, Still editing tags, Still editing the tags, Team as Family, Torture, Trigger warnings for disturbing things, Wings, abilities, wing fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-03 03:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 106,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21172757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BIGJUICY_69/pseuds/BIGJUICY_69
Summary: The second book in the FEATHERED series.It hasn't been long since the missing Karasuno boys escaped the sinister government laboratory known as the Facility. On their own with nothing but each other and the new attributes they've been cursed with, they must battle with the aftermath of their past sufferings, all while trying to recover, survive, and stay one step ahead of the enemy.After losing three of their own to the Facility's hands, new potential is revealed to have been lying dormant all along. But as it turns out, after having seen a news report about their memorial, the boys later find that nothing has been as they thought.They weren't the only ones abducted by the Facility one year ago. The crows are not the only ones to have endured the cruelty of the Facility.Now that their own have been taken, once again held captive alongside the others they never knew were there, the rest of the Murder won't leave them to suffer.But even in freedom, is captivity, and even in togetherness, isolation.And once the Facility realizes their mistake, they'll stop at nothing to get their experiments under control.But just how far will they go?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a warning, KuroYaku is in this book! I'm sorry for all you KuroKen shippers!

It was a cool night out, air fresh with the scent of rain. The streets bustled with the noise of busy people, moving quick more like their own shadows than people. Car tires dipped into the puddles on the street, splashing onto the sidewalk pedestrians, who shied away by nature.

Lights were dim and cast a dream-like glow onto the city below them. The tall buildings and skyscrapers loomed like giants who watched people, or like walls that shielded the city from harm.  
Either one sounded ridiculously amusing in Hinata's head.

"...And we send our prayers to the families of our late soldiers, and we thank them for their services, wishing them nothing but everlasting peace."

In a store window hung a flat screen, on it playing the night's news, and as if on cue, a topic they'd discussed in the morning's and the afternoon's.

"Tonight we'll be starting off the sports news by sending our deepest condolences." The female anchor spoke.

He'd been standing there watching, as he'd done every night for the past two nights. Wherever there was a tv playing the news, Hinata was there to watch it, when either being the lookout, or waiting patiently. However, no matter which, he was always hidden in his red hoodie.

"That's right, tonight marks a full year since the majority of the Miyagi Prefecture's Karasuno High School Boys Volleyball team went missing..."

Hinata's hands clenched in his pockets, and he felt his fingernails dig into his palms with a burn. His school appeared on the screen first, and it might as well have been in black and white, it felt so historic. The image faded a few seconds later, to a picture of...them. It was them. They looked so different. Their hair, their skin, and their smiles.

In the glass's reflection, he could see a distinctly familiar figure making its way over from his left, and stopping beside him to grab his shoulder. It was Nishinoya in his own hoodie of a deeper red. Hinata was positive that back then he wouldn't have recognized him. But after being cooped up with him for most of a year, Hinata knew him.

"Come on, we found a- Hey, are you okay?"

Hinata's gaze was pasted to the screen, and Nishinoya's was too in an instant. That was him on that screen, but he almost didn't recognize himself.

"The teens were reported missing by their parents one by one when each of them miraculously disappeared without a trace. The initial search began two days after the disappearance of the club's four first years, with relatives and friends bewildered and alarmed all at once. Sugawara Hanako, the mother of Sugawara Koushi states that she "never heard him leave his room," only to go in the next morning and find his bedroom a mess and his window intact."

A house Nishinoya hadn't seen before was on the screen, but he knew who it belonged to.

"Hey you two, what's going on? We're ready to-" Suga's voice halted as he laid eyes on the screen, and his eyes widened in horror at the sight of his own mother on the screen, wiping her tears with tissues. She hadn't changed. Suga didn't know when Tanaka had shown up by his side, but he had.

"The hell...?" He whispered, but Suga heard it. He heard all of it.

"It saddens me to say that authorities have officially given up their search, and the case has now gone cold, for none of the missing have been confirmed dead. But this hasn't stopped the parents from searching and hoping that their children will soon return to them. The team's three third years were the last to disappear, and would have graduated at the end of the year to start their path to adulthood. Someone's choice to snuff out their innocent lives has ruined that. 'They were so bright and hopeful, I can't believe someone would even do something like this,' said one of their teachers in a short interview."

The boys stood there, frozen in time while the tv screen held them there with a force that they couldn't deny.  
A new image, a video clip, showed a memorial, a collage of all their yearbook photos up on the wall in what was definitely their school hallway. Bouquets of flowers covered the entire space underneath them. To each of their surprise, there were their old team's rivals, leaving bouquets of their own and lighting candles. Never had they seen them look so miserable.

Kuroo Tetsuro, their old Nekoma rival, appeared on the screen, gazing at the pictures beside Yaku, who looked like he'd grown a little bit. The Seijoh team was there, and Nekoma, and Fukurodani too. They all looked so very troubled.

"A shrine was made by a few of the grieving students to remember their old friends, a sweet gesture that managed to carry all the way to the team's rivals via social media. The fact that they would travel all the way just for this, was truly heartwarming."

Hinata couldn't believe it. Their rivals, their enemies and yet their friends, all came to say goodbye.  
Kenma looked like he'd been crying, and Bokuto still was, a shocking sight to see. No one would look at the cameras, when normally a few of them would be excited to be on TV.

Did people really miss them that much?

"With only three players left on the team, the leftover students quit, as well as the coach, who had come through for the boys at the beginning of last year. Words haven't been spoken to him since, for he refuses to speak to the press, understandably so. If there is anything that can be taken from this devastating tragedy, it's that we must keep hope in our hearts, and never give up on what keeps us going. We give our deepest and most sincere condolences to the families of the following: Hinata Shouyo, Tsukishima Kei, Yamaguchi Tadashi, Kageyama Tobio, Nishinoya Yuu, Tanaka Ryunosuke, Asahi Azumane, Sugawara Koushi, and Sawamura Daichi. We wish you comfort and peace wherever you are, Angels. We would like you all to please join us for another moment of silence for the sweet lost children of Karasuno High School."

Nishinoya stormed off in the middle of it, and Tanaka followed suit, while Suga pressed his hands to Hinata's shoulders, trying to refrain from being sick all over the concrete sidewalk. The world swayed for just a few seconds, though.

"I know. Come on, okay? We need to hurry before the store closes."

"B-But we're right here...!" Hinata whisper-yelled, trying to go back to the screen. "We're right here!" He called out, and Suga shushed him, and pulled him into his chest, soothing him and caressing his head. Passers glanced at them in curiosity, but kept walking.

"I know, okay? But we've got to go. Come on, Shouyo." He whispered the last part to him, and started to walk backwards, coaxing Hinata to start walking with him. When he got the hang of it, he walked beside him, tucked up under Suga's arm.

"It's going to be okay."

Hinata felt invisible. There were so many people around him, so many of them that he could reach out to. But he was invisible to everyone.

Down the street, Nishinoya paced back and forth, trying to hold himself together. When Suga and Hinata caught up, he tried to take deep breaths. How could this happen, he wondered. But he knew the answer. And he knew that it wasn't his fault despite how much he felt like it was. He didn't know why he felt like it was his fault, but it was just something indescribable.

"Deep breaths, bro, we can't do this here." Said Tanaka, and he could hear the strain in his voice.

Nishinoya's hand slid up to grip the top of his hood. "I fucking know that!" He snapped.

It was harder to breathe, and he wasn't sure if he was having a panic attack or nearing an anger explosion. "Goddammit! Let's just get this shit over with!"  
His wings tingled and burned under his skin, and he held his breath for as long as he could.

Suga touched his back and came around in front of him.

"Hey," he said gently, and Nishinoya opened his eyes. To his surprise he could barely see through his tears. The cold breeze made it hard to keep them open.

"We have to keep going for now, okay? We're almost done."

Nishinoya looked down to hide his tears, but Suga lifted his face and held it so he could look into his eyes.

"I know." Suga said, and wiped the boy's falling tears of anger and sadness.

They walked on ahead to the small store they'd been watching for a good ten minutes. Tanaka opened the door for Suga, holding onto his backpack for him.  
They watched him through the glass, hiding so they were unseen. Suga started talking to the man at the counter, and managed to touch his hand. After that, he had him in his web like it was nothing.

Suga tapped his foot twice on the floor, the signal, and when Tanaka opened the door, they could see the man seemed to be smitten with him, under his control entirely. He gave a goofy smile, squeezing Suga's hand. Suga smiled back at him, flashing sweet, bewitching eyes at him. He leaned in and whispered something to him, and the man nodded. His gesture gave the green light, and the boys moved quickly into the store's aisles. They began swiping food and snacks into their bags quickly, keeping their heads down to avoid the cameras, and shoving in boxes of whatever they could find that was good. Tanaka sped back to the cold drinks and started dropping cans of iced tea into his bag. He managed to slide in a bottle of milk too.

Their bags were filled to the brim and heavy, but it would be worth it when they got to eat tonight.

They slipped out first, and when Suga joined them and took his filled backpack, they started on their walk down the street, like they didn't just rob the place.

"HEY, YOU! GET BACK IN HERE, YOU DIDN'T PAY FOR THAT STUFF!" The voice of the cashier bellowed, giving away that he was no longer under Suga's empathetic influence, and that was their cue to fucking _book it._

_*_*_*_

Nishinoya was snacking from a box of crackers, head resting against his backpack when he heard Hinata speak.

"So...are we not going to talk about it? At all?"

Suga stood though, and from the roof they were on, looked around in search of the rest of their group.

"I don't think it's our priority right now. It's cold, so be ready to leave when they get here." He said, and turned around to face him in the dark.

The wind blew hard against them, shifting their clothes with its force. Suga walked over and sat beside Hinata, pulling him into his side.

"It's bugging me too, okay? We'll talk about it later. I don't think we should have this conversation alone. It's better if everyone knows first."

Hinata sighed and leaned into him, heart heavy. "I just...Can't believe they think we're dead. We're not dead...are we?" He looked up at him with his emotional eyes, paining Suga just a bit.

The older male sighed. He wanted to say, "Not entirely, no," but that was a bad idea for obvious reasons, so he just shook his head quietly and they sat in silence, waiting.  
Right as Hinata began to shiver, the other members of their group could be heard flapping in the distance. A few moments later, they were landing near them, and the rest of them were standing up to greet them.

"Hey, we got it. Let's hurry, it's cold." Grinned Daichi, taking Suga's hand. Not much else was said before the group was taking off into the dark sky with their bags on their fronts and their forms unseen by the little people.

The wind whistled in Hinata's ears and blew off his hood, running its non-existent fingers through his short auburn hair. His wings spread wide, and he flapped, elevating himself higher up in the sky. He hadn't flown outside in a while, only when traveling, which they hadn't done due to sleeping on that roof for the past few days. Even though he was devastated by the news report, he couldn't deny that he was excited to finally get a hot bath.

For the majority of the evening, the group had been split up into three. Two got food, and the last that consisted of Kageyama and Daichi, went to a nearby hotel that grabbed their attention on the way into this city.

A glance over at Kageyama proved that if they didn't get to a decent resting place soon, he could collapse. To be honest, they all could. The lights lit up the world below, and for a moment, Hinata forgot that they were top secret government fugitive freaks. He felt like a bird, free to go as high as he wanted. He came back to reality when he saw Daichi land on the roof of a small building below.

"Alright, now be careful getting down. It's right over there." Said Daichi as they all landed carefully one by one.

Hinata had gotten significantly better at his landings, but that didn't mean he didn't mostly crash into Asahi on the way down. Luckily, Asahi caught him with ease after already having landed. Hinata blushed in embarrassment and muttered a quiet apology.  
Slowly they helped each other off the roof, and made their way over to the hotel. Most of the windows were dark, as it had gotten later, but that just meant less people to question a group of teenage boys without adult supervision.

They went through the spinning doors, and Hinata wowed at how large it was. The ceiling was extremely high, leaving the entire room spacious. It wasn't nearly as busy as he thought it would be, but that was a good thing.  
Yamaguchi clutched Tsukishima's hand when he and the lady at the desk made eye contact.

Tsukishima turned his head and pressed his lips next to his ear. "Deep breaths." He reminded him, aware that Yamaguchi was starting to get anxious.

It'd been happening since their escape about two weeks ago, mostly when they were in public, in sight. He gently caressed his knuckles and they tagged along behind the group.

  
Yamaguchi did take a deep breath, keeping his gaze on the cold, polished floor beneath his feet.

While Daichi and Kageyama got to work on getting the two key cards(Daichi and Suga would keep them both), Yamaguchi squeezed Tsukishima's hand for reassurance. He could feel all of their eyes on them, watching, wondering why a bunch of semi-dirty, raggedy-looking teenage boys were in the lobby of the fanciest hotel in the area. He hated it, for they stuck out like a sore thumb.

A few moments passed, and he slowly gained the courage to look up again. There was no one else in the lobby anymore. Where had everyone gone? Had it truly gotten that late?

When the group started to walk toward the elevator, they followed, keeping close when they took up the rear. They filled the elevator completely, leaving no room as they wore their full bags. The ride was quiet, air thick with the comfortable silence of anticipation. The elevator dinged and they exited, taking light steps so they didn't draw attention to themselves.

"420." Whispered Daichi, and of course, Tanaka and Nishinoya snickered to each other.

"Chris! Is that a weed-"

"Shh!" Suga shushed in disapproval, and held a finger to his lips.

Tanaka visibly deflated as his reference was ruined, and he shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets. Yamaguchi chuckled softly, for he understood the attempted reference.

"I'm calling the police." He whispered, and Tanaka turned around with a smirk.

"Knock it off, you two. When we get inside, be quiet, okay? We don't need anyone seeing us in here? The first thing we do is start taking showers, and when you get out, eat something. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are first, then..."

Yamaguchi zoned out on Daichi's orders, and scanned each of the golden door numbers with his eyes.  
410, 411, 412...

'_How did we even get in here,_' he wondered, even though he knew the answer. They just kept getting better and better. Who knew Kageyama could ever get so good at manipulation? To be able to trick a woman into giving nine broke minors a room, was truly a fascinating gift.

'_Meanwhile, what can I do_?'

'**_Don't start._**' He side-glanced at Tsukishima, who was already looking at him.

Yamaguchi averted his gaze with a blush, and pulled his hoodie lower onto his head with his free hand.

An abrupt stop caused him to bump into Tanaka's bag, and he could see Daichi fiddling with the key card in the slot.

Room 420. There were its shiny gold numbers screwed to the door, bold for him to see.

The red light turned green, and Daichi twisted the handle, calmly stepping in first to scan the room. Nothing out of the ordinary. So he waved them all in, and flipped the light on once they closed and locked the door.

"Holy shit!" Gasped Nishinoya, immediately getting aggressively shushed by the others. "Sorry..." He muttered half-heartedly and slipped his bag off.

"This is awesome!" Tanaka exclaimed, and Daichi nudged him to be quiet.

He was right. The room was huge and incredibly spacious; there were two neatly made queen size beds on the right wall, a large flat screen on the left one opposite of them, two couches facing each other with a coffee table between them, a pretty maroon recliner off in the corner near the door, and another couch closer to the bathroom more in the back.

  
The room smelled sweet like vanilla and honey, making its warmth all the more cozy.

"Wow," Said Yamaguchi, squeezing the sleeve of his dark green hoodie. "It's so nice." Tsukishima hummed in agreement.

It wasn't long before everyone began to explore, but that was something that the two of them didn't mind doing later. They slipped into the bathroom with towels and stolen underwear they'd stashed in their bags, and Tsukishima was secretly thankful for the lock on the door. If someone busted in, he just might kill them.

The bathroom was astonishing for its size as well. The tub was huge, and the shower had glass doors, and the sink and counter was gray and white marble. Yamaguchi ran his fingers over it, finding that it was smooth to the touch. They washed together, helping with each others backs in silence, a given because the only one who was ever allowed to bathe Yamaguchi back then was Tsukishima.

After washing and rinsing, and running warm water in the tub for a soak, Tsukishima climbed in and welcomed Yamaguchi into his arms, to hold him against his chest in silent peace.  
They sat there, not speaking, not needing to because this was natural to the two of them, as natural as breathing. Yamaguchi's head rested on Tsukishima's shoulder, and he leaned it against his neck.

The water nearly melted away all of the month's worries: escape, stealing, survival and such. It was warm and peaceful, and they could have soaked in there all night if the others didn't have to get in. If it were their own bathroom.

_*_*_*_

Daichi didn't mind going last, as long as the others all had their baths and felt good as new. He grinned when he walked out of the steamy bathroom, watching Hinata, Tanaka, and Nishinoya fooling around with the coffee maker on the ledge near the TV, where all nine of their bags were in a neat pile, ready to be grabbed fast if needed.  
Kageyama was already asleep on one of the couches, curled up and almost small.

Suga spared Daichi a grin as he covered the boy with a spare sheet. Daichi grinned back, and for once felt safe. Here they were, all together in a room by choice, free to move as they wanted, smelling like soap instead of rubbing alcohol, comfortable. He couldn't remember the last time he felt truly at peace like this.

On one bed sat Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, nuzzled up with their eyes on the TV and snacks spread across the covers. Asahi sat on the other couch, eating something he couldn't quite make out. Nishinoya caught sight of him and waved him over.

"Daichi, look! There's coffee and tea, and sodas in the fridge, and milk, and other stuff!"

Kageyama sprang up from his position on the couch and startled Suga, but he laughed when Kageyama had his face in the fridge a split second later. He ended up plopping himself beside the fridge and downing the entire carton.

"It's cool, I stole more milk because I knew this would happen." Shrugged Tanaka, going over to his bag.

Daichi folded up his towel and hung it on the rack in the bathroom, before joining Suga on the left bed that they had claimed.

"Alright you three, it's time to eat. That's enough fooling around for tonight." He said, and watched them all groan and shuffle around the room to find their respective sleeping spots.

Tanaka kicked back the recliner and Nishinoya and Hinata discovered that the third couch was a pullout, so they took that, while Asahi settled onto the larger of the other two couches, and Kageyama climbed back onto the other.

A colorful cartoon they didn't recognize played on the screen fora few more minutes before SpongeBob came on, and Tanaka and Nishinoya's exaggerated cheers could be heard.

It amused and even warmed Daichi, and he started to eat a roll of crackers, sharing them with Suga. '_They really still are a bunch of kids-_'

"I think we should go back to Miyagi."

Everyone's eyes darted over to Hinata, and Suga muted the TV.

"_What?_" Daichi whispered.

Hinata glanced at Suga and back to Daichi. "Earlier, there...there was news report about us." He started, even managing to catch Kageyama's attention across the room.

"Everybody thinks we're dead, and they had a ceremony at our school. Even our rivals showed up...Everyone did. Because they all think we're dead. But we're not! We can go back now, can't we?" He said, hope filling out his soft voice.

No one spoke for fear that if they did, the conversation would get all-too real. It was about to get all-too real.

"He's not wrong. We are out now, so...couldn't we?" Asahi added softly, eyes semi-wide with the realization. Everyone looked back to Daichi, who looked like he'd been dreading the subject.

He had been.

"Look," He started, tucking his hands under the blanket with a big sigh. They could hear it in his voice.

"I know how badly you all want to go home, believe me. But it's not safe for us. If anything, we're safer away from Miyagi than in it."

Hinata's heart dropped. "But our families are there! They think we're all dead, we have to tell them we're not, or they'll go on without us!"

"Think about this, all of you: They took us from Miyagi. They know we'd want to go back, so where do you think they'd look for us first if there's no way to track us? Where's the number one logical place where we'd probably hide?" Daichi asked, and heads went down.

But not Hinata's. He looked desperate, hopeful, and devastated all at once, and it was crushing Daichi's insides. They felt heavy, tight, and stiff.

"Maybe they already looked, and they're somewhere else, far away from us!"

Tsukishima cut in."Even if they did, we have no way of knowing where they are, or if that's actually true or not." He said, brows furrowed in thought.

Hinata was losing points to make, and before he knew it, he was nearly at none. Every single one was picked apart piece by piece until it was nothing was the shreds of a dead wish.

"I think we need to forget about it. Plain and simple." Daichi said, and that just might have been the news that broke the tranquility of the entire room.

It was a harsh reality to face, but it sparked thoughts that none of them wanted to think, not even himself.

Could they really live without their families? The people who took them when they had absolutely no one, and raised them as their own? Could they really _abandon_ the people who gave them every ounce of love they had, and made sure they knew it? Could they stay away this time by choice?

Tears dribbled down Yamaguchi's cheeks, and he leaned back against the headboard of the bed. "So we...we're just going to leave them? Just forget them after everything we've been through? How...can you even _suggest_ that?" He said, tone barely above a whisper. Tsukishima of course went to trying to comfort him, only to get no responses.

Daichi ran his hand over his eyes and met Asahi's gaze. "Look, we...we can't. Do you have any idea how badly I want that for you?"

"No! Do _you_ have any idea?!" Hinata stood up, fists balled and tears pouring out of his beautiful brown eyes. The room went silent in shock.

"You three knew about that place, and you knew about us! You knew everything, but we didn't know _anything!_ Do you know what it's like to not know what's gonna happen to you?! DO YOU?!" He yelled, and Nishinioya stood up to try and grab his shoulder. Hinata shook him off.

"WHEN I FELL INTO THAT COMA, I COULD HEAR YOU! I COULD HEAR ALL OF YOU SCREAMING EVERY TIME THEY DID SOMETHING TO YOU, AND I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING! I WAS STUCK IN THAT BED FOR MONTHS, BY MYSELF! NO MOTHER, NO FAMILY, AND NO FRIENDS! IT WAS ME AND MY HEAD, AND IT WAS DARK! IT WAS SCARY!" He sobbed, wiping at his face with his large, slightly over-sized sleeves, only for the tears to keep coming. He looked so small, like a child who lost his parents in a crowd.

"It was my Mom's birthday in two days, and I couldn't be there, because they attacked us and took us away! They took the gift I bought for her, and they took my phone, and I couldn't talk to her ever again! And now she's in the hospital because she tried to kill herself! What do you know about that?!" Hinata shocked with that information, for that was something only he knew, after hearing it on a different news report just a day ago. And he kept it to himself.

"I know enough!" Daichi slammed his hand down on the nightstand, loud enough to make everyone flinch and probably disturb their neighbors. Hinata flinched, and his tears rolled down heavier as Daichi yelled at him.

"I know that when I found out you were all in there, I didn't know what to do! I know that I had to look at your faces every day, and watch you cry in pain because I couldn't do anything to help you! I know that I had to listen to you move at night because you were too injured to be comfortable! I know that every time they took you in, I had to sit and worry about if you would _even come back!_"

Hinata let out a quiet sob.

"So don't you _ever_ talk to me like I don't know what you're going through! My family's there too! You think I like this?! You think I like having to look over my shoulder all the time, and have to figure everything out so we don't end up back there, in that _place?!_ I could have abandoned you back there, and you know it! But I never did, because I cared about each and every one of you when they treated you like garbage! And nothing is going to change that! Do you know how bad I wish I could take us home and have everything go back to the way it used to be?! I would-"

Daichi inhaled sharply and swallowed back angry tears.

"I would give my _life_ for that. I'd give it for all of you. I'd let those bastards _t__orture_ me forever if it meant that the rest of you could be _safe _forever. The things that they did to us, those things were not our fault! But it happened, and this is where we are now! We're together, and goddammit, it's going to stay that way, because I'll be damned if I'm going to lose any of you to some sadistic madman, ever! So yeah, I _do_ have an idea! You're not the only one suffering! Remember that I have to come up with a place for us to go after this! If we go wherever, and we get caught, then we are _done!_ Do you understand that?!"

As if on cue, a series of deep, angry beatings pounded on the wall of the beds. Face finally revealing his break, Hinata ran to the door and flung it open.

Suga hopped off the bed. "Hinata, wait-"

But the ginger was already gone, without his shoes. Then Suga was too, without his shoes. Yamaguchi was the next one to leave, locking himself in the bathroom before Tsukishima even knew what had happened.

Kageyama went to follow Suga, but when Asahi took hold of his wrist and his glossy eyes met Kageyama's the younger teen refrained from following.

Daichi looked at the only four people left, and sighed, dropping his head back against the headboard with a thud. He tossed the blankets aside and got out of the bed, going past Nishinoya and toward the door where all of their shoes were neatly aligned.  
He stuck his feet into his own, and left, going the opposite way he'd seen the others go after closing the door behind him.

This was a cluster-fuck if he'd ever seen one. He hadn't meant to get aggressive, really. Little by little the burning weight of guilt was settling upon his shoulders. Daichi hadn't mean to get angry. No, not angry. Aggressive. Yeah, that was the word.

He sighed and shoved his hands deeper into his hoodie pockets. He remembered when they picked them out in a store, barely a day after they escaped. He remembered the smile on Hinata's face when he picked his, because he was the only one who didn't immediately think of blood. He looked- no, _was_ so happy just to have a damn jacket.

Daichi rubbed his eyes and sighed, dropping his head to look down at the floor. "How could I yell at them like that?" He asked himself.

He knew the answer, but...it still didn't feel right. He'd never been the cause of Hinata's tears before. It made him wonder how the white coats could be, and simply wouldn't care.

The moment replayed and replayed in Daichi's mind, the moment where Hinata finally broke and ran away, because that was the only thing any of them could do anymore. Daichi did feel guilty about it, but not as much as he probably should have.

He knew he was right, and was making the right decision. He couldn't just take them back to Miyagi because they wanted to go, anything could be waiting for them there! And now that each of them had been given a taste of the Facility's power, he knew that they were just as aware of what danger could have been lurking.

Hinata's eyes appeared in his mind, desperate and scared. "I'm not wrong," He said. "I'm trying to protect them. It's my job, I can't just..." He took a deep breath and sighed again, looking up to see that he'd walked all the way to 401, where the elevator was. His shoulders drooped and he hated himself for a moment, for making Hinata cry. He didn't have to yell, no matter how frustrated he got. Hinata was just scared, and he knew that. He knew well.

"Dammit..."

_*_*_*_

"I...I just wanna see her...! I wanna go home just once!" Hinata sobbed into Suga's shoulder, clinging to him like the lifeline he'd always been. They were currently hidden on the side of a vending machine after Hinata got into an elevator and Suga had to take the next one down. Thankfully he could feel that Hinata didn't want to get too far away from the group and deemed one floor down to be far enough.

"Me too," Suga replied, holding the smaller male in his arms and rocking him back and forth. "But you have to understand that-"

"No! I don't care! I don't care anymore! I want my mom!" Hinata absolutely bawled, hugging as tight as he could. Suga had never heard him cry this hard, and believe that it'd come pretty close to this before. But this was another level entirely. A single blink sent Suga's own tears trickling down his cheeks, and the realization that he'd either been putting off or really was hadn't thought about, hit him.

He wasn't Hinata's mother. He wasn't Hinata's father. He wasn't even Hinata's parent, even though it damn sure felt like it. He hadn't welcomed the thought until it pushed its way through the wall he'd so carefully built with bricks of steel.

"I just want my mom!"

How was Suga supposed to tell him that their families could possibly be killed if they returned and were found out? They barely knew where they were now. Where else could they go?

Suga knew none of that. He didn't even know if he would see his own mother ever again.

But what he did know was that he didn't give a damn if he wasn't related to Hinata. Hinata was his, and that's just the way it was, the way it became. They were all his, and nothing was going to ever change that. He'd die before he let them go so easily, and as unsettling as that sounded at first, he never regretted the thought. He couldn't.  
It wasn't just that they were all his, he was certain that if anyone was, it was Hinata.

Hinata, the boy who used to be so upbeat, and still found time to smile, was his, and that was a fact. Anyone who said otherwise wasn't worth Suga's time.  
After all, if he wasn't here to soothe Hinata's cries the way only he could, who would?

So, Suga curled them up in the corner where the wall and machine met, and held Hinata's entire weight against him. His kissed his head and shushed him, no longer rocking him, but hiding him.

From everyone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any errors, I'm always editing! As far as I know right now, there will be updates every Friday! If my schedule lightens any time soon- which it probably won't for a while -I'll try to update more frequently.  
I hope you like this! Very painful to write! :')
> 
> Happy November!

The room was silent as the sunlight pushed past the curtains, illuminating the hotel room with golden light. Snores had come off and on all night, until everyone fell into a light sleep by early morning, their bodies' habit after being in the Facility.

Nishinoya was the first to open his eyes, slowly but surely. He raised his arms and stretched, releasing a quiet but strong yawn, and rolled onto his back.

Something wasn't right.

He turned his head to the right, and found that he was alone. Hinata wasn't there. Thinking nothing of it for now, he pushed himself up and walked to the bathroom. It was empty.

When he came out, everyone was how he left them, and he started to panic. He jumped onto Daichi and Suga's bed, and shook Daichi vigorously. Daichi shot up and they bumped heads hard, causing him to hiss in pain.

"Ah! Nishinoya, what-"

"Hinata's gone!" Nishinoya interrupted. The panic in his eyes proved that he was serious, and the realization hit Daichi harder than a truck. Suga was already sitting up when Daichi got out of the bed, but everyone arose in an instant when Daichi commanded it.

"Find Hinata!" He ordered, sliding his feet into his shoes, yanking the door open, and running out into the halls.

Hinata's shoes hadn't been by the door with the others, and that was cause for alarm.

Asahi yanked back the shower curtain, anxiety digging a hole into his stomach. "Hinata?"

Kageyama looked under his couch. "Where'd you go, you dumbass? You better not have left!" Even he felt panic starting to settle in. Nothing good could ever come from one of their own being gone, and he knew that, no matter how much he tried telling himself that he didn't care too much.

Yamaguchi nudged Tsukishima. "Tsukki, why aren't you looking? Hinata's not here, what if-"

Tsukishima grunted as a reply. "Stop worrying, it's not a big deal." He muttered, and Tanaka punched him in the back, making him sit up abruptly.

"What do you mean, "not a big deal"?! He could be anywhere, you little jackass!" He shouted at him, before darting out the door behind Suga.

Grouped up waiting for the elevator, Daichi, Suga, and Tanaka decided to check the first few floors down. Daichi would handle their floor, Suga would handle the third, and Tanaka the second.

Suga started to ramble. "It's okay, he couldn't have gone far...Unless he left right after everyone fell asleep, or got a- Oh my God, Daichi, what if he got a _ride_ from someone? What if he got into a stranger's car? What if he's already in another country?! He could have run into human traffickers!" He was panicking, and it wasn't helping the situation, only stressing Daichi out even further. He turned and grabbed ahold of Suga's upper arms, looking him in the eyes.

"Enough. We're going to find him, alright?"

Suga's eyes were teary, and his lip quivered, but he nodded his head. When he and Tanaka were gone, Daichi set out running through the halls.

"Hinata!" He called. _'This is it,'_ he thought. _'I was too hard on him and he ran away.'_' He hoped that wasn't the case. When he searched for Hinata's light, deep inside himself, he could still feel him, so that was good sign. But that didn't make him feel any better about the situation. "At least he's alive," he tried to tell himself. "Find him."

For over ten minutes, there was no luck, and now the group was near frantic, poor Suga panicking more than ever thought possible.

They were all back upstairs in their room, conversing about the plan: pack up everything and leave the hotel. They'd looked everywhere: under couches and beds, and the cabinets, in the closet and in the fridge even. Nothing.

"Suga, Yamaguchi, you two stay here in case he comes back, and-" Daichi was interrupted by a sneeze. A single familiar, high-pitched sneeze that came from under he and Suga's bed.  
Asahi, who was nearest to it, got on his knees and flipped up the covers. Indeed their had been a blanket underneath it earlier, but it had looked like a simple extra.  
But as he made out the human shape and the bright red high-tops suddenly sticking out from under it, it became clear that Hinata had never gone anywhere.

"He's...under the bed." He said, and the room collectively sighed in relief, just as Tsukishima came out of the bathroom.

"Oh. I was wondering when you were going to realize he was under there." He said matter-of-factly, and twisted the cap off a plastic water bottle.

Daichi face-palmed, rubbing his eyelids. "And you didn't think to tell us because...?"

"I was waiting to see if anyone thought to, I don't know, toss around the pile of blankets to see if it _breathes_." Tsukishima replied, and sat back on his bed.

"Hinata, wake up." Asahi coaxed gently, but Hinata didn't move. It was when he grabbed his foot that Hinata jumped awake and kicked at him.

"Hey, calm down! It's us! Look, us." Asahi reassured, and Hinata slowly recognized all of the shoes. He inched out from under the bed and rubbed his eyes.

Tanaka sighed. "Jesus, were you trying to give Suga a heart attack?"

Hinata looked down at his lap. "Sorry. I just felt safer, and-"

Suga had dropped to his knees and hugged him tightly, hardly able to contain his tears or breathing. "We thought you were _gone_." He whispered.

Hinata couldn't help but feel bad, and he avoided Daichi's gaze on purpose, wrapping his arms around Suga. "I...thought about leaving. But I wasn't really going to, I swear!"

Suga backed off of him and checked him for any bruises even though he had never left.

"H-Hey, I'm fine. I promise." Hinata blushed, and almost felt like he was in the hands of his mother. Suga sighed and let go of him.

"Next time you decide to squeeze yourself under a bed, let somebody know!" He scolded, startling the younger boy, who then grinned and nodded. Then Suga turned to Tsukishima, who'd been smirking.

"And you! You think it was funny not to tell us? We panicked for nothing!" He sped over and gave him a hard punch to the arm, making the younger hiss in pain.

"Next time I won't go so easy on you, you got that?" Suga fumed, and Tsukishima reluctantly nodded. Anything to get Suga to calm down.

He did, and reached up to roughly rubbed Tsukishima's head. "Good."

Tanaka and Nishinoya snickered at the scolding, but shut up when Daichi looked their way.

_*_*_*_

Hinata looked out at the pool from the balcony, watching everyone down below. Children screamed with delight, leaping in, floating, and dunking each other. He would have loved to join them. But when you only had one shirt and there were two sensitive, gigantic slits in your back, it wasn't the best idea. Especially since any stimulation brought his wings out like an excited puppy who spots a treat.

He sighed, leaning on the railing. The sky was a beautiful blue, clear of clouds. It looked so inviting since he'd never flown during the day before. He would love to. Oh, how he would.

The door slid open behind him, and he didn't bother moving because he knew exactly who it was by his smell.

"I, uh...wanted to talk to you a bit. That okay?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I know we can't go back, I just-"

"Hinata."

"Sorry..."

Hinata looked up at Daichi when he leaned on the railing beside him. "First off, I don't want a single apology from you, because you didn't do anything wrong."

Hinata didn't understand that. "But I-"

"And second, I want you to listen to everything I'm about to say to you."

Hinata closed his mouth and decided he would. He waited.

"I didn't mean to yell at you yesterday, and there's no excuse for it. But I want you to know that I meant every word of it." Daichi started, looking over at him. Hinata wouldn't look back, keeping his head down. "And I'm not sorry. Because, Hinata..."

Daichi placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him so they could look at each other. "If I ever made the wrong decision and got all of you hurt, I couldn't live with myself." His eyes were dead serious, and Hinata could see that. His own eyes began to tear up, and when he couldn't look up, he dropped his face into Daichi's chest and hugged him, surprising the older male.

"I'm scared...We don't have anywhere to go..." He whispered, and Daichi hugged him back, holding him as close as he could without hurting him.

"You don't have to worry about that. Just be a kid. Wherever we go, it's going to be safe." Daichi wanted to promise that, but he knew that he couldn't. Why make a promise he knew was impossible to keep?

Even if it were impossible, he would try, and he could promise that much. He would do whatever he could, because he knew that he had to. Without determination, they could get nowhere. Daichi had plenty of it.

"I'm going to do my best to make sure of that."

_*_*_*_

When night came, Hinata once again curled up underneath the bed, leaving one leg out in case he needed to be grabbed quickly. He didn't favor the idea, but what Daichi insisted, he wouldn't go against. This night they slept without the TV, and let the silence hold them, cradle their ears.

Tsukishima, who was still gaining control over selective telepathy, was trying his best to block out all of their mind chatter. He wasn't succeeding, but practice made perfect, and he continued to try.

Suga's eyes were open, watching Yamaguchi's chest rise and fall slowly. He couldn't sleep, for his mind was wandering everywhere else. He listened to each of their breathing; Kageyama's was fast, Tanaka snored, and Asahi breathed slowly, easily. At least they were at peace enough to be comfortable. Slowly, he slid out of bed and crept to the sliding glass door of the balcony, where moonlight shown into the room after he parted the curtains.

The night air was cool against his warm skin, almost cold. He leaned on the rail and watched the pool below, empty and illuminated by the underwater lights. It almost looked magical, and it looked inviting. But it wasn't safe. They could be cornered easily down there, and he knew it. So he refrained from hopping over the railing and going for a night swim.

The wind blew softly against his face, and he closed his eyes to take it in, for this was freedom. This was what they fought for, to be able to feel the wind, and taste the fresh air. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so good. It was refreshing, considering his thoughts were previously consumed by the threat of the Facility.

"Koushi,"

It was Daichi.

"Are you alright?"

Suga half turned his head, and could see the male moving toward him after shutting the door. Suga took a deep breath and sighed as he leaned on the rail beside him. "Yeah, just...couldn't sleep."  
Daichi nodded, their shoulders pressed together.

"I know you. Tell me."

Suga couldn't help but grin, for he knew he couldn't quite get it past Daichi. "Miyagi. The people we've left behind. School. There's really no way to go back, is there?"

"Of course there is. It would just put all of us at risk. You know that." Daichi replied, seeking out Suga's hand to hold gently yet firmly. He rubbed his fingers over his knuckles and brought it up to his lips for a kiss. "We can't. I'm sorry." He whispered against the top of his hand.

It wasn't an unknown fact, but part of Suga still hoped that something could be worked out. Not even so much for him, but for those boys in here, who had almost nothing to cling to but each other, and their drive to live.

Suga didn't speak, but turned his body so he could hug Daichi, who was his own lifeline, strong and reliable. Resting his chin on his shoulder, he squeezed Daichi's neck and sighed, letting his eyes slide closed. "We're doing the right thing, aren't we? Keeping them away?" He wondered aloud.

Daichi hugged him close by his waist, gently, slightly swaying them as if music were playing. "I hope so. I want to believe that. I know it hurts, but safety is priority. Especially with Yamaguchi and Hinata. And you."

Suga didn't respond, but he agreed. Those two were the most fragile at the moment. "They're so sad."

"We have to be safe, Koushi."

"I know, but...Can't we do _something_? Maybe not Miyagi, but...something to take their mind off it?" Suga asked.

Daichi pulled away to look him in the eyes. Suga's eyes were sincere, as they always were, and as they always were, they were Daichi's weak spot. So he sighed.

"Maybe we could figure something out. Maybe."

Suga smiled and leaned in to kiss him. Daichi held him close and kissed back, feeling his shoulders relax. Suga's fingers gently rubbed into his hair, and he pulled away, leaving their noses touching. But Daichi leaned back in to kiss him again, craving the warmth that came from his touch. Suga experienced a brief feeling of loss, missing when Daichi's hair was there to grip onto, _whenever_ the opportunity was there. But it was so low now, growing back slowly just like the rest of theirs.

Suga's hands moved down to cup his cheeks, and he pulled away, letting Daichi's face drop and nuzzle into his neck. He shivered, still holding onto him. He didn't want to let go, afraid that when he did, this moment where it was just the two of them would end, and reality would come crashing down on them like it always did when they had to be adults.

Daichi pressed a kiss to his neck, and another, and then another, moving up to his jawline. "Maybe..." He started. "We can try the pool. I'll see what I can do for Hinata and his wings."

Suga felt himself smile, but he gasped softly when Daichi's teeth grazed his skin. How long had it been since he'd felt Daichi's hands, he wondered. A year. A year since he felt _him_.

"Can we be quiet enough?" Suga whispered, his desire starting to outweigh his logic.

"Not with Tsukishima awake. Let's just stay right here. We'll get our chance."

Suga could hear the restraint, and feel it as his hands graced the back of Daichi's neck. It was stronger than his own, as he almost didn't care that Tsukishima was awake. But Suga knew that the blonde didn't deserve to be mortified just because they were desperate.

When they went back inside, they nuzzled up together warm under their covers, and in a matter of minutes, they had drifted off. Not long after, Tsukishima followed.

The room fell into a deep silence.

Until just an hour later, when a blood-curdling, heart-stopping scream echoed through the dark hotel room. It was a scream so horrific, so _haunting_, that not a single body remained still. In an instant, most of them were on their feet, and Suga flipped the light on, revealing to them who the scream's owner was.

"Tadashi, wake up!" Tsukishima cried out, trying to restrain the thrashing Yamaguchi, who was covered in sweat and tears. He continued to scream in fear of _something_, fighting Tsukishima's touch as he tried to pin him to the mattress. Daichi went over to help, and Asahi too, while the rest of them watched in horror as one of their own suffered.

Yamaguchi managed a kicked to Daichi, sending him hard to the wall.

"Daichi!" Suga rushed to his side and helped him up, hardly noticing the crater left in the wall by Yamaguchi's forceful kick.

The lights flickered, and the bathroom door shook, as well as the beds and the flat screen.

The empty bed began to rock against the wall and slide up, leaving scratches up the wall in its place, and revealing Hinata in its place, eyes wide open and body absolutely petrified. His eyes watched them trying to help Yamaguchi, who was surely having the most awful night terror.

"Oh my God." Said Kageyama, confused about whether or not he should intervene. It was when Yamaguchi's wings shot out through the slits in his facility shirt that the situation became truly messy.

It was difficult to keep Yamaguchi's limbs pinned down while simultaneously trying to take care of his wings. Especially since they pushed his hoodie upward.

At that point, Tanaka and the elder two went in to help weigh the bed down as it started to raise.

"Jesus Christ, what's going on?!" Shouted Tanaka, holding down one of his legs(which was surprisingly hard).

Outside of the noise of the beds and the bathroom door shaking on its hinges, Tsukishima's voice could be heard screaming Yamaguchi's name, almost completely masked by Yamaguchi's own terrified unconscious shrieks. He screamed his name _desperately_, like it was the only word he knew anymore, begging and begging for Yamaguchi to wake up and realize he was safe.

In the bathroom, the mirror cracked, and their heads started to hurt, for they hadn't heard such loud screams since Hinata's, and even this was nothing close to that.

Hinata's wings slid out and it was beyond his control as he covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. He could hardly bear listening, because he could he hear the pain and the raw _fear_ in his voice. Yamaguchi's throat must be shredded by now, but he couldn't imagine how he was still screaming. For a moment, he saw himself strapped to that table, hooked up to that machine, and he could almost feel the hot air of the vent suffocating him.

Hinata couldn't help but tremble as his wings covered himself, trying to hide.

"Yamaguchi, come on! Open your eyes!" Daichi ordered, panicked. What could he possibly be dreaming about, he wondered, but that was nearly the least of his concerns. He could see the TV shaking, and feel it all come to a head beneath his feet.

Finally the TV tore away and flung itself across the wall, right past Kageyama, who stood frozen in fear when he felt it whiz by. It hit the wall hard, creating a hole that hopefully no one would notice.

The bathroom door broke off its hinges for sure, and Nishinoya let out a small yelp when he was yanked off his feet and up toward the ceiling, grunting when his back hit it. Little by little, the rest of them were losing their footing, grabbing onto whatever they could to keep from going up. Kageyama managed to stand his ground, holding onto Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's bed.

"Son of a bitch! Wake him up! For God's sake, wake him up!" Shouted Tanaka, gripping the headboard of the bed as hard as he could. His hands were slipping, and he was terrified, for this was even worse than the last time. He didn't understand how it had come to this. Just a year ago, he'd finally found someone, someone who truly liked him. And what of that person now? He wondered these things as he came closer to letting go.

The lights dimmed and brightened, so bright they couldn't look at them, and so dim that they were briefly in the dark. When they were surrounded by darkness, Yamaguchi's screams were nearly deafening, and the walls shook, worsening the chaos.

The lights turned back on and became bright, until Yamaguchi's eyes shot open and he was struggling to breathe, hyperventilating and sobbing.

Everything in the air came crashing down, and thinking fast, Kageyama grabbed Hinata by the foot and yanked him out of the way of the falling bed as fast as he could.

Tanaka barely landed on his feet, and Nishinoya ended up crash landing on Kageyama and Hinata. Everyone was breathless, but not as much as the boy who awoke, chest heaving, body trembling, and lungs struggling to catch air.

Tsukishima had never let go of him, and pulled him upward into his arms, half-cradling him, and whispering to him. His shoulders shook, and so did his breathing, and whispers weren't enough to calm Yamaguchi's bawling, or his own fear. The freckled teen clung to him, one arm weak and the other strong, burying his face in his shoulder.

Suga wiped away his own sweat and glanced at Tanaka, before rushing over to make sure he was okay. Tanaka was laid out on the rug, filled to the brim with fear as the rest of them were, and Suga, hugged him, because he didn't know what else to do when his thoughts were scattered around the room.

"Is everybody alright?" Daichi asked softly, turning to the rest of them. Hinata was shaking, bawling his eyes out as he clung to Kageyama, who- while shocked -held him absently, his gaze mostly stuck to Yamaguchi and Tsukishima.

Daichi sighed and rubbed a hand over his head, looking from person to person for some sort of reassurance that they were alright. Nishinoya had acquired a bruise from his fall, but it could have been so much worse, Daichi realized.

He was grateful that it wasn't, but he couldn't say the same for Yamaguchi, who didn't look like he was going to be getting quiet very soon.

"I-I'll go draw a-"

Someone pounded on the door, making each of them jump. Suga looked to Daichi in a panic, and Daichi raised a hand to all of them, carefully making his way to the door.

From what Hinata could hear while he sat still against Kageyama, was that the neighbors below them and on both sides of them were at the door. They were furious.

He'd stepped out to talk to them, and their loud yelling could be heard through the door.

Suga carefully examined Tanaka to pass the time, trying to distract himself from crying.

Finally, Daichi stepped back in after what felt like an hour. By then Yamaguchi was quiet, a shock, and everyone else sat stiffly awaiting his words.

"They agreed to keep this between us. We're lucky they didn't complain to the front desk. We can relax, but I think..." Daichi's eyes found Yamaguchi and Tsukishima's bed, empty because they were in the bathroom.

"We might need to start looking for somewhere else to go tomorrow." He sighed. "But I don't want any of you to stress out about this. It can't be helped."

The boys visibly deflated from that news, and Hinata looked like he might cry again. Now they had to do something to distract them, because this was absolutely mad, he realized. Part of him wanted to knock on the bathroom door which looked like it had been forced back in place for the time being. But he decided he would talk to them in the morning.

_*_*_*_

"The pool?!" Hinata gasped, eyes wide with excitement as those of the others were. He jumped up in the air with a happy cheer, and his hand briefly touched the ceiling. "Let's go, come on!"

Daichi chuckled and ruffled his short hair when he came down. "Hold on there, you. We've gotta cover you up first." He said, and grinned when Hinata could barely contain his excitement.

"It won't take long, don't worry. Why don't the rest of you start heading on down?"

"I'm gonna do a cannon-ball!"

"Bet I can do one bigger than yours, Yuu!"

Tsukishima was too tired to glare at them for being loud. He wasn't as thrilled as the rest of them were, to say the least. In fact, he didn't give a damn about the pool. He cared more about Yamaguchi, who was unresponsive since his night terror. His eyelids were low, and his gaze on his lap. When Tsukishima tried talking to him, he didn't answer. Tsukishima didn't take offense, but it made his heart heavy.

He didn't have to say that they weren't joining everyone else. They understood that Yamaguchi wasn't well enough. Tsukishima held onto his hand, holding him across his lap with his head against his shoulder. Suga glanced back at them as he held the door open for the rest of them, who filed out slowly. Until Nishinoya and Tanaka rushed out and started a race.

"Hey, don't run, you guys!" Asahi cried, running after them while Kageyama followed slowly behind.

Suga watched the quiet couple for a moment. "I can...stay if you want, Tsukishima." He offered. But Tsukishima shook his head, and while sad, Suga would leave them.  
A few minutes later, Hinata burst out of the bathroom with bandages wrapped around his upper torso and covering up the slits in his back.

"Alright, let's go! Come on, come on!" He cheered, grabbing his towel and sprinting out of the room. Daichi had thought to cover all of them up, but Hinata was the only one who didn't have the best control over his wings. A little water could do anything, and it was a spontaneous sort of thing that they didn't have time for.

Daichi looked to Suga and nodded to the last two, but Suga shook his head. Though he gave a worried sigh, he understood.

"We'll be back in a little while, Tsukishima." He said, before pulling the door closed and locking it from the outside.

Somehow, Daichi felt responsible for what happened. He'd done nothing wrong, and he knew that, but he felt so _guilty_.

Maybe because he couldn't do anything to help them. But he would.

He would do whatever it took.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly like the first part of the chapter, but I had to rush the rest of it, which annoys me, but I didn't want to delay the update! I hope you enjoy this anyway! (At least some of it, *cough*)  
~Pie

Tsukishima hummed, only because no one was around, and it was just the two of them. He dunked the rag into the warm water, and squeezed it over Yamaguchi's slack, beautifully-freckled shoulders, hoping that the water would do something for him; perhaps calm him if anything.

But Yamaguchi was still unresponsive. He sat there and let himself be bathed, for that was all he could do in this state. He still understood when Tsukishima guided him to the bathroom, and Tsukishima chose to accept that because the thought of Yamaguchi walking just because he was being pulled, tore his heart into pieces.

He sat on the edge of the tub as he bathed him, squeezing the water out onto his head and pouring shampoo onto his palm. Yamaguchi let him. Sometimes Tsukishima wondered that if he were someone else, would Yamaguchi snap out of it?

Yamaguchi didn't lean into his touch the way he usually did. He didn't hum along, or giggle, or smile. He didn't _speak_.

It was agony. Tsukishima missed his voice. The worst part was that Tsukishima remembered his dream from last night, and it was what awoke him in the first place. It had been horrible, so dark and so...

Tsukishima sighed. It gave him a glance into what that day had been like for Yamaguchi, when he'd been so brutally attacked.

Tsukishima clenched the rag in his fist and it burned. His throat was tight, and his chest felt too heavy and empty at the same time. He exhaled hard until his lungs were empty and begging for oxygen. He didn't breathe in. He clenched his jaw and tried to keep from shattering in front of his frozen Tadashi, who didn't need to see it even if he could see(Tsukishima honestly didn't know if he could or not) at all.

It would be different than when he cried and Yamaguchi was there to console him. Because Yamaguchi wasn't here right now. He was lost.

"What..." Tsukishima whispered, sinking to his knees. "What can I do...? Tell me, please... Tell me what I can do to help you..." He finally took a breath and let out a sob, tears rolling down his pale cheeks and blurring his vision. He couldn't even hear Yamaguchi's _mind_ respond. He was gone.

The blonde leaned his back against the tub and buried his face in his arms, shoulders shaking as he sobbed. He didn't know what to do, and it was the truth. He couldn't describe the guilt.

What could he really do to help, if Yamaguchi was too far gone to hear him? All that responded to Tsukishima was the madly deafening silence.

_'How could I let this happen,' he thought, as he often did. 'Why did I take so long to hear him?!'_

He flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked up, there was Suga crouched in front of him, a look so soft and so warm on his face.

"It's not your fault." He said, and Tsukishima shook his head. "Yes it is. It is my fault, I can't do anything to help him! I'm just here, waiting!" He shouted angrily, and now both of Suga's hands were on his shoulders.

"And that's all you can do right now. That's what he needs until he comes back."

Tsukishima tried to shake out of his touch, but Suga's grip was tight as he gave him a firm shake.

"Cut the shit, Kei!" He shouted, and Tsukishima froze, tears starting to shine on his cheeks. To hear his first name again was haunting.

"Just stop it! If there's nothing you can do but wait, then suck it up and sit here with him until he comes back! We can't rush it, we can't force it, and feeling sorry for yourself when you aren't to blame, is not going to help him or _you_." Suga scolded, and for the first time, his eyes looked firey.

Suga spoke gently now. "I know about the guilt, maybe better than anyone. But you aren't the one that left him in there. You were the first one to help him." He said, slowly wiping the younger male's tears with his thumbs and waiting to be pushed away. Tsukishima lowered his head, but he let him dry his tears.

"He needs you. All you can do for him right now is stay by his side. Now...finish his bath and get him to bed, okay? He needs rest." Suga nearly whispered to him, and pulled his hands away.

Itching for contact and having no control over his body, Tsukishima leaned into him and hugged him, pinning his arms to his sides.  
Suga's eyes were wide and he at first didn't know how to react, until Tsukishima began shaking again.

So, Suga gently pushed him away to free his arms, and then wrapped them around the boy to comfort him. He shushed him and rubbed his back, catching sight of Yamaguchi sitting motionless in the tub. He closed his eyes so he didn't have to look, because it was hurting him too. _'Children,'_ his mind murmured. _'You're just children.'_

He wasn't used to comforting Tsukishima, just as much as Tsukishima wasn't used to needing it from him. But it was a relief for the blonde(and secretly stress-inducing for the older male) that he wasn't alone in this, even if he wouldn't admit it to himself. Too embarrassed to let go, he stayed and let himself be soothed by Suga's touch for the first time.

After a long while, Tsukishima let go and kept his head down. But Suga lifted his chin and looked into his eyes. "Come on. I'll help you."

_*_*_*_

Hinata yelped when he was suddenly rising up out of the water on Tanaka's shoulders. "How's it feel to be tall, Hinata?" Tanaka laughed, and Hinata did too, too happy to be offended. He yelped again when Tanaka let go of his legs and dropped him backwards into the water.

"Ryuu, me next! Not because I wanna be tall or anything!" Nishinoya chimed. "Let me stand on your shoulders!"

Daichi watched them with a grin, sitting with his feet in the water and his body soaking wet. It was like watching several little boys mess around, and it lifted tons of stress off his shoulders especially after what happened last night. Part of Daichi wanted to go back up there, but he knew Suga could handle it.

Meanwhile, they had to find somehere else to go. After what happened last night they would have to leave, probably in a day. That was enough time to find somewhere decent--at least he hoped so.

Miyagi was still out of the question, and poor Kageyama was so worn out from using his control that they definitely couldn't fool their way into another hotel. The boy was currently at the bottom of the pool somewhere, until his head popped up. He looked like he hadn't reacted to the water, and he went to floating on his back.

A sudden chill ran up Daichi's spine, and he looked around in alarm. There was nothing at first, until he caught sight of people looking at them, whispering things to each other. Then he saw it, floating in the water.

A single black feather.

And then another.

And another.

Hinata was still lost underwater, and his bandages were floating off somewhere else on the surface of the water. For a moment, Daichi was frozen in shock, thinking, _'Shit, I didn't make them tight enough!'_

When Hinata didn't come up for air, Daichi started to panic, especially when he could see the black of his wings on his sides. Daichi dove into the water, and locked eyes with Hinata, who was all the way at the bottom, struggling to keep his wings in. He grabbed him and tried to force them in, but it wasn't working.

Panic turned into fear, but he kept trying because the most important thing was that they didn't get exposed. Hinata felt heavier in his arms, almost like his wings, which were trying to outstretch, were weighing him down. 

_'Screw it, we'll have to make a run for it!'_

Daichi dragged him up to the surface of the water, and Asahi was there in an instant to drop the towel over Hinata's back. People were staring and keeping their children away, and Hinata coughed, clinging to Daichi as he and Asahi helped him climb out.

Paranoid, Asahi glanced around, and before he knew it, he caught sight of a woman pointing at them, whispering to two security officers.

"Oh no. Daichi, should we be worried about that?"

"Just security. Stay calm. If we run, we look suspicious, and they chase us." Daichi said calmly, and helped Hinata stand.  
He spared a glance to the adults and a casual wave, as he gently ushered them all back to the building. Thankfully, they weren't followed. Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been telling a lie when he said it was nothing. He didn't think it was security.

It saddened him some to hear the complaints of not being able to stay longer, but when those complaints turned into gleeful reminiscing about their fun, he felt better. They'd done something, and that mattered so much that he would think about taking them one last time tomorrow before they left the hotel for good. At least he managed to lift their spirits, and he smiled as they neared the door to their room.

Once inside, they began to dry off, and Daichi had Hinata sit in front of the heater to dry his wings. When Suga asked if they had fun(while he helped Tsukishima get Yamaguchi to eat), the room erupted in happy shouts and talking over each other, and it warmed Daichi's heart.

Sitting on his and Suga's bed, his eyes found Yamaguchi, who looked like he'd had a bath, and was sitting up in the other bed. He still stared off into space, but at least he nibbled on some fruit from an open container they'd kept in the fridge. He recalled him never opening his mouth the last time this happened. He remembered, just a week or so before their escape, this had happened. He felt relief wash over him, and he flopped down on the mattress, listening to their excited chatter like it was music, his favorite song in the universe.

_*_*_*_

When night came once against with its graceful touch of silence, most of them were already asleep, worn out from the pool earlier.

Unlike the previous nights, their sleeping arrangements hadn't stuck, and in the center of the floor, where the couches and table had been moved aside to make space, laid Asahi, Hinata's head lying on his outstretched arm as he laid up under him, mostly hidden by blankets. Tanaka laid on the other side of Hinata, snoring with his hands underneath his head, and Nishinoya had his back against Asahi's, nuzzled warmly under his own blanket.

Kageyama stayed on the moved couch.

Suga watched them all with a grin and shook his head, before looking at the clock's number that read 9:50PM.

"I was sure Hinata and Noya liked the pull-out couch." He chuckled, and adjusted himself to lie on Daichi's chest, humming when Daichi wrapped an arm around him. His eyes found Yamaguchi and Tsukishima's sleeping forms in the other bed.

Daichi hummed. "Guess they're too used to sleeping together. It's a comfort thing." He felt Suga nod. Indeed, if he weren't so comfy right here, he might have moved down their to join them.

"They're like a litter of kittens, aren't they? The way they curl up without saying, like second nature. It's sweet." Whispered Suga, rubbing Daichi's shirt between his fingers.

"We're connected enough, I'd say. Wanna join them?" Daichi replied. Suga chuckled and closed his eyes, and Daichi couldn't help but grin. He didn't want to kill the mood, so he kept his stressful thoughts to himself.

He relaxed against the sheets and sighed. There was a sneeze, and his eyes opened again. He could hear shuffling on the floor, and then another sneeze.

Down on the rug, Asahi's eyes had opened, and he watched Hinata shifting uncomfortably, lethargically in his sleep. His head felt hot on his arm, and he reached his free hand over to feel his forehead. He was burning hot, and he almost jumped up in a panic.

"Guys...!" He whispered to the other two, who he knew were awake.

"Asahi?" He heard Suga.

"I think Hinata's got a fever. Come here...!"

Asahi carefully cradled Hinata's head as he sat up, and held him as Suga made his way over to feel his forehead. Suga frowned.

Hinata was breathing fast, and his face was flushed, a thin layer of sweat blanketing his skin. "Yeah, I think so." He sighed, and took Hinata into his own arms so Asahi could get a cold rag to put on his forehead. They didn't have medicine or anything, and that surely put a damper on things.

He figured, though, that they may not have needed it.

"Hinata, wake up." He whispered, and Hinata's eyes slowly peeled open, his dazed gaze finding his face after a few seconds. "Mnn...?"

"You're running a fever. Can you take off your hoodie?" he asked him, but Hinata's head fell limp as he fell out of consciousness again. Suga sighed. "Okay."

He carefully removed the red hoodie, the shirt underneath, and his bright red shoes, and Hinata didn't move once, completely out cold. Asahi came back and they moved Hinata to the pull-out bed again, so he could be as comfortable as possible. He coughed a bit, but ultimately stayed asleep. Once they were done getting him dry and comfortable, his wings slipped out and drooped onto the floor and underneath Daichi and Suga's bed.

Suga sighed and pushed his left one back onto the bed with him, and then his right. He didn't want to be worried, but the feeling kept pulling on his stomach, tugging and then yanking.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Daichi whispered to him from the bed. "Come on. We're going to be busy tomorrow, you should sleep."  
Suga was uneasy about it but as long as Hinata was right beside their bed where he could hear his shallow breaths, he wouldn't have to worry too much. He stroked the younger boy's head before climbing back up into bed and shutting off his lamp.

Daichi wrapped his arm around his waist and pressed his lips to his forehead. "He's okay. Probably his wings getting wet. It'll probably pass by tomorrow morning." He reassured. Suga didn't know if he was right, but he hoped so. If Hinata got sick, it could throw off everything they had planned.

_*_*_*_

The next time Suga saw Hinata, it was the next morning when the sun was barely up, and he and Daichi had briefly awoken everyone to explain that they would be leaving to find somewhere for them to go. The two of them had been dressed in their shirts, hoodies, and pants, with their bags ready on their backs.

Fatigue was nonexistent to them as they informed their group.

"And if someone comes to the door, Asahi's the only one allowed to get it _if_ it's necessary," Said Daichi. Suga was on his knees, quietly checking up on Hinata and whispering to him that they would be back, after he could barely sit up properly anymore.

Hinata groaned softly and shook his head. "Don't go..."

"We'll be back soon. You'll be okay while we're gone." Suga whispered to him, a loving tug in his stomach preventing him from getting up. He pressed Hinata to the mattress and Hinata reluctantly laid down. He was pale, and he was still hot, but at least he wasn't sweating in a warm room anymore. Suga rubbed his fingers over his cheek and smiled.

"It's only a few hours. We have to find somewhere, you know that. I want you to get some rest, and you're only allowed to get up to use the bathroom. I've got Tanaka making sure you don't move." He slightly teased at the end, and Hinata chuckled a bit, before he started to cough into his arm. When he was done, Suga sighed and pressed his hand to his feverish cheek.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead, leaving his own warm tranquility lingering in Hinata to ease his pain as much as possible when Suga's touch finally left him. Hinata's cheeks flushed, and his eyelids drooped in an instant.

"Mom, I wanna kiss too...!" Nishinoya slurred sleepily, before his head dropped onto his pillow and he snored, spurring laughter among the group and mostly from Suga, whose cheeks were tinted pink. He was secretly flattered. He looked back to Hinata and smiled.

"Go to sleep, Shouyo." He whispered, before he stood up and headed toward the door.

Hinata's eyes watched him with a hint of sadness, for at this moment, he didn't want to be alone. He knew he wasn't _totally_ alone, but he didn't want to be without Suga, he realized. It felt like he was being left with a babysitter, and he couldn't explain that. He looked to Daichi too, silently asking him to stay, but Daichi grinned at him and opened the door for Suga.

"A few hours." He said, and the door closed behind them.

Without words, Tsukishima laid back down beside Yamaguchi, and the others followed slowly.

Not Hinata, though. He laid there, with his flushed cheeks and his fever, and the warmly odd feeling of love coursing through his entire body. He sniffled and he couldn't fight a smile. It was the first time Suga had done that where others could see before. It made him feel like maybe everything would really be okay. He yawned and felt himself getting sleepy again, and his eyes slid closed.

It would be four hours before he woke up again, and when he did, he felt much, much worse than he did before. He couldn't move, and he could barely breathe. His body felt like it weighed a ton, like he was bolted down to the mattress. He wheezed as he tried to breathe, and his body felt like it was on fire.

"A-Asahi..." He whispered, and tried to move. His voice was nonexistent, and it felt like there was a rock in his throat--or more like a boulder. No one answered his call, and he struggled to push himself up to a sitting position. His wings had come out in his sleep, and nearly dragged him down again, but he managed.

"H-Help...!" He wheezed, gasping to try and breathe. He grabbed the blanket on Daichi and Suga's bed and used it to pull himself up. His legs were like jelly and he could barely stand on them.

_'What's going on? Why does everything hurt so bad?'_ He thought, tears blurring his vision. He was scared, so very scared, and he didn't understand what was happening. When his eyes found Tsukishima, he tried to call out. _'Tsukishima! Hey! Can you hear me?!'_ He thought desperately. Tsukishima didn't move though.

Hinata's hands trembled, and he managed to stand. He took a slow step and used the bed for support as his body shook. Asahi was on the couch just a few feet away, and he tried his hardest to get over to him. As soon as he reached the end of the bed and let go, his body collapsed hard like he was a ragdoll, like his body was made of cement. He drew a tight breath into his aching lungs, and he coughed hoarsely, brutally, as if something was tearing through his lungs and through his chest.

In just a second, the others were awake and Asahi rushed over to him.

"Hinata! Are you alright? What's wrong?" Asked Asahi, taking the younger male into his arms and helping him sit up. Hinata, still coughing, shook his head and clung to his shirt, cringing at the mettallic taste of blood on the back of his tongue.

"I-I can't-- Can't breathe!-" He said between coughs. Tanaka came over with a bottle of water and uncapped it. "Here," He said urgently. But Hinata didn't, and covered his mouth as he began to cough harder, a multidude of sickening tastes finding their way into the back of his throat.

Asahi continued to hold him up, looking on his horror when Hinata pulled his hand away and his palm was died a light orange color. "B-Blood...! Blood, it's-" Hinata started coughing again, and this time Tanaka forced him to drink the water on his next break.

The blood was now a heavy taste in Hinata's mouth and his throat was tight as he covered his mouth to cough again. It was agony, more than he'd ever felt before, something indescribably painful. He lost control over his body and fell limp in Asahi's arms, panting and struggling to catch his breath.

"What...What's going on?" Asahi whispered, and lifted him bridal style to carry him over to Suga and Daichi's bed. He laid him down and grabbed a Kleenex to wipe the blood from Hinata's hand. Hinata's throat wheezed, and as badly as he didn't want to be lying down, he felt his body sink.

"Hinata, what does it feel like?" He asked softly, before sending Tanaka to get a cold rag.

Hinata weakly wiped his teary eyes. "Hurts...all over." He cried, and at the sight of those tears, Asahi felt helpless. What could he possibly do to make it better, he wondered.

He leaned forward to prop Hinata's head up on a pillow, and right after he'd done so, there was a knock on the door.

All movement in the room came to a halt, and everyone was frozen in place, silent, the only noise being the mini fridge

Tsukishima echoed their thoughts.

**_'Daichi and Suga?'_** Nishinoya.

_**'They have a card. It's not them.'**_ Asahi.

_**'Maybe they lost it?' **_Yamaguchi, whose soft voice was startling to hear.

_**'They have a special knock, remember? It's someone else.'**_ Tsukishima.

_**'Then who is it?'**_ Kageyama.

_**'Should we run?'**_ Hinata.

There was another knock, this one so hard they felt it under their feet. They didn't know what to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major hiatus was majorly unintended...  
I don't even know what to say, just that I'm sorry for the hiatus.  
A little while after chapter three, I lost my will to write- and write well. Then, when I finally got my groove back, circumstances prevented me from updating. Honestly, this chapter and chapter five aren't my favorites because they were written when I felt terrible, but I'm sorta proud of chapter six!  
Just had to finally move everything along, I guess...  
Sorry if the timeline may be confusing, but there are things to be revealed!
> 
> Again, I'm so sorry for not being able to let any of you know, and your support is always much appreciated.
> 
> Special thanks to MoonlightandSunshine for your uplifting comment! It made me feel good enough to write again, and chapter six is the result!
> 
> HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!
> 
> P.S- Sorry if they're short!

It had taken a long time, but they found somewhere to go. Daichi smiled at Suga, and Suga swung their linked hands on the way out of the elevator.

They walked in silence down the halls, but Suga frowned as they got closer to their room.

Daichi raised a brow. "What the matter?" He asked, until he felt what Suga felt. Something he couldn't describe, but something that didn't feel right.

Just then, ahead, their room came into view. To their surprise, there were people outside of it, three, and one of the two men was banging his fist on the door.

"What the hell are they doing...?" Daichi muttered, and they started to speed walk.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" He shouted, and now they were running. The man was stepping back and trying to kick the door down, the impacts of his shoe echoing down the hallway.

When they saw them coming, they seemed to panic, running off down the hallway in the opposite direction. Daichi didn't let them go, instead going after them while Suga unlocked the door in a hurry, positive that Daichi could take care of it.  
When he opened it, the invisible hand squeezing his heart let up just a little.

They were okay...whatever that meant for them at this point. They weren't dead...? Yeah, that sounded about right. But they didn't look like they were alright.  
The images hit Suga in a wave, for the first thing he saw was Asahi, who looked like he'd been holding the door. Then Tanaka, who was in a ready stance to attack with his metal hands. Kageyama was near the closest bed, guarding Hinata, who looked like he actually _was_ dying. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi looked like they hadn't moved from their spots on the bed, frozen.

"Are you all okay? Did anyone get in?" Suga asked, unable to relax. He hadn't seen Nishinoya. "Where's Noya?" He asked, eyes starting to scan the room in a panic. They started to look around, shaking, bodies still nonmoving with fear.

"Noya!" Suga called out, going farther inside and starting to look deeper. He didn't want to panic, because the attempted intruders hadn't gotten in, but there was never a chance for them to take anything lightly. He knew that. A few seconds later, Suga saw him, sitting up against the bathroom door, knees to his chest and hands over his ears. He looked so small then.

Suga knelt in front of him, and when he touched his shoulder, Nishinoya flinched, attempting to push him away. But he'd looked up and seen that it was Suga, and it shattered the older male to see that he was in tears, trembling.

"It's okay now, we're here. They're not going to get us." Suga whispered. Nishinoya looked toward the open door where Daichi was entering, but Suga turned his face back, trying to wipe the tears that just seemed keep on flowing. Nishinoya let Suga hug him and cried into his shoulder. Never before had Suga felt so much terror from him. For a moment, Nishinoya was just a little boy. It took Suga's heart and twisted it into two mushy pieces that desperately needed to be put back together. This needed to end.

Hinata began to cough roughly, momentarily diverting Suga's attention. Noya seemed to perk up, but not in the good way.

"Hinata! There's something wrong with Hinata! He's sick!" He started to ramble, and tried to wiggle out of Suga's grasp, as if his own shock didn't matter.

Daichi sat beside the ginger, who reached out, tears of too many emotions to count, welling in his eyes. Daichi took his hand just as he started to cough violently, worse than he had this morning.

Even Hinata's hand was burning hot, a red flag among many: the sweating, the lethargic movements, etc.  
"It got worse?" Daichi asked, almost to everyone in the room. Hinata's throat never ceased its wheezing, and he was shaking, too weak to move any further.

Asahi spoke, and Daichi turned to him, never letting go of Hinata's hand. "He coughed up blood. N-Not a lot, but...enough to be concerning. He can barely move on his own."  
When Daichi looked back to Hinata, the ginger's eyes were closed, and his breathing was heavy. He couldn't help being alarmed, especially since Hinata's grip had loosened greatly and now Daichi was holding a limp arm.

"We'll...we'll rest up until tonight. Then we make our move." Daichi said, laying the boy's hand down. Suga was near, he could hear him.

"But...it's the coldest at night, it could make him worse."

Daichi looked to him with helpless eyes. "What choice do we have? If we leave now, we're the most vulnerable because we can be seen. It's safer for us here until dark." He stood up and let Suga take his place. Daichi looked at their faces, with those expressions of fear that were all-too-familiar. He wanted to reassure them, believe that he did. But after that scare, he didn't know what else to say. He had to think.

So, he stepped outside the door, remaining there to think, and to _guard_. It was still a shock to his system that those freaks had been so close to getting them again. And Daichi just knew- because he could feel it- that they were lurking around, waiting.

He didn't like it. That was too close, and he knew it, they all did. But as much as it killed him to have them sit here and wait, being seen leaving could be just as dangerous. One look at their faces, and things could go south.

So they waited. 

_*_*_*_

The sun was going down, and Tsukishima figured they would have about an hour until it was completely dark. The day had drawn on longer than all of the others, and the snail pace subconsciously reminded him of the long days in the Nest.

The majority of the morning had been spent doing their laundry because it had been a few days, and everyone was too on edge to even try to sleep. Except for Hinata, who had only awoken two more times since he fell unconscious. His unknown illness could prove troublesome especially since he couldn't move, but they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

Tsukishima currently sat on the bed with Yamaguchi, who folded their clothes and passed them over so the blonde could neatly pack them away in their bags--which had become so much lighter since they had been here for the past four days.

"Do you blame me?"

Tsukishima didn't look up. "For?" He asked, but he already knew.

"Having to leave...We wouldn't have to if I could control it better, and-"

"You can't control what happens in your sleep, like Tanaka can't control when he snores. You can't master a reaction, you just have to handle the aftermath." Explained Tsukishima, moving aside Yamaguchi's toothbrush and a bar of soap to make room for a pair of socks.

"They found us, and they would have found us with or without your night terror. So, no. I don't blame you." When Tsukishima glanced up at Yamaguchi, the freckled boy's eyes were glassy, fragile as they always were. The blonde sighed and continued to pack away their few belongings, as well as any stray feathers just because shedding was inevitable and room service had already found a few. Mistakes, but nothing that raised much alarm.

Tsukishima zipped up their bags and took Yamaguchi's hands in his own, holding his gaze. "You know I don't blame you. No one does. But especially not me. I could never blame you."

Yamaguchi sniffled and wiped his eye on his shoudler. "Yeah." And it was true. He could feel that Tsukishima didn't blame him, but he couldn't stop himself from asking, simply because he wondered what he would say.

Tanaka watched him from the recliner, tapping his foot impatiently. His gaze shifted from his roommates to the darkening window, and to the door. "Now?" He muttered, and wished he'd kept it in because he hadn't meant to say it.

"A little longer." Said Suga, tying Hinata's shoes onto his feet while the younger male slumbered heavily, cocooned in a roll of thick hotel blankets. They planned to keep him wrapped up for the trip, even if he didn't sleep through it. There was no way (Suga would allow) they would risk Hinata getting even worse.

A little longer it had been indeed, but it felt like an eternity. Suga had allowed Asahi to accompany Tanaka and Nishinoya down to the dining hall, and they returned with stocked backpacks just a few minutes before they were taking their leave. They already had their stuff, so they were ready.

Daichi lifted the slumbering Hinata into his arms, wrapped in a few blankets to keep him warm shielded against the cold.

"We're going to keep quiet," he said. "Don't draw attention to yourselves, because we're going to be walking for a little while before we go up." There were nods, and the boys were slipping out of the room quietly. The halls were silent, not even the voices of other residents coming through the doors. Silent. An eerie silence as they walked down the hallway toward the emergency stairs.

"Do you think they've been watching us? That they know we're leaving?" Asahi asked softly, walking beside Nishinoya and Tanaka. Tanaka glanced behind them. "For their sake, I hope not."

They reached the stairs and opened the door, descending until they got to the bottom and out the last door, where they could finally see the dark, rainy sky.

_*_*_*_

"The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the water spout!"

"Down came the rain and washed the spider out!"

"O-Out came the sun and wiped up all the rain..."

"It's "dried up all the rain," Three!" Said One with a raised brow.

"Yeah!" Two agreed.

"Oh...sorry..."

"It's okay, let's try again." Said Two.

The voices of the nursery chimed together once again, with the books scattered around thier owners along with little black feathers and a few candy wrappers.

"I'll start this time," Said Two, his knees pulled up to his chest. "Then One, and then you, Three."

One smiled and looked to Three, who nodded softly, fiddling with the tail of the stuffed horse in his lap.

"The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the water spout!"

"Down came the rain and washed the spider out! Now you!"

"Out came the sun and dried up all the rain..."

They all finished. "And the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again."

Two clapped his hands. "Yay! You did it!" And One clapped too.

Three blushed and smiled. "Yeah, I did it."

_*_*_*_

It had been rainy when they stepped outside, shocking because just a while ago, the sky had been clear. But as long as it didn't rain, they would be alright. Hinata would, mostly. But surely the cold, humid air could do him some good, right? Suga didn't know. He hoped it would.  
The air was freezing, and if they were lucky, it would start snowing any time soon. If it could still be warm during the day, then they had a chance. The cold wasn't a bother so much as the paranoia was. After their scare earlier, there was no telling how close they were to being caught. But hopefully after they arrived at their new place, they wouldn't have to worry about it.

It was a nice place he and Daichi had discovered, as nice as a lodge in the woods in the next city over could be. They'd caught word of an area with these cabins and decided it was worth taking a look. They had a general route and location, which was enough to get them there by tonight if not by around 6 AM tomorrow. It was a lucky find considering many of them had been sold off and nothing was to be done with them for at least a few more years. If that wasn't lucky, they didn't know what was. They would surprise the rest of the group.

The walk to the parking lot wasn't long, and the car's lights blinked when Daichi unlocked it. Carefully, they piled into it again, cold until Daichi got the heat going.

_*_*_*_

The lodge's features were all a blur to them, for the first thing they did was lay Hinata on one of the long couches and have the younger males sit and wait while the elders checked the cabin from top to bottom. There was no sign of anyone, and judging from the thin layer of dust that covered many of the lodge's items, no one had been there for a while, which was reassuring.  
The younger boys were already asleep by the time the three of them returned to the living room.

"It's safe to sleep," Daichi joked, for he had planned to tell them so when they got back. Suga smiled and helped spread out the blankets, before they got Tsukishima and Yamaguchi to move onto it. They had to drag the other three, but that wasn't too hard with Asahi handling most of it. Daichi meanwhile got a fire started in the fireplace with matches he found in the kitchen, and Suga carefully moved Hinata--who was still wrapped up--into the center of the blankets, where he further covered all of them with more blankets and sheets from the hotel.

"We made it," He whispered to Hinata, who wheezed in his sleep. "We made it somewhere safe." He grinned, caressing the sleeping boy's cheek. It wasn't as hot as before, which was a relief, and soon the room would be nice and warm so they could pull off some of the blankets. Even though he was tired, Suga couldn't bring himself to sleep. He listened to the fire crackle, and watched the soft glow on their sleeping faces.  
He felt Daichi lie beside him, and wrap his arm around him from behind.

"You should sleep," Daichi whispered to the nape of his neck. Koushi sighed. "I know. I'm just worried about him."  
Daichi's nose nuzzled against his skin and he kissed. "He'll be okay. We all will."

And Suga wanted to believe that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY HOLIDAYS! MY SECOND GIFT TO YOU!

Kuroo walked in silence beside Yaku, shoulders shrugged up in attempt to combat the cold. His scarf hardly did him any good, but it was certainly better than nothing. He could see his breath in the chilled air, even though it was nearing the end of November. He walked with his gloved hands in his pockets, occasionally glancing down at Yaku. They attended the same University after high school, despite Yaku's father wanting him to go anywhere but where Kuroo went. Even that made Kuroo's blood boil, made him tick.

"Just ask me already and get it over with."

He looked down to Yaku, who didn't look back. Instead, his eyes were trained on the lightly snowed path in front of him.

"What?"

"Quit playing dumb, Tetsu, I'm not in the mood..." Yaku sighed, and his voice carried through the dark street, empty with the lack of people. There was the occasional passing car, but not many at this time of night. "You've been wanting to say it, so just give me the I-told-you-so and let's go."

He wasn't wrong, but Kuroo would never admit it, not at a time like now where Yaku was surely sensitive about the events that just took place. Kuroo shyly sought out the other male's hand, sticking his own into Yaku's coat pocket to protect them from the cold. "I'm not gonna say that. Why would I say that? Look at you, you don't need a damn I-told-you-so. You _need_ to let me kick his ass...!" He said, lowering his voice some when Yaku held onto his hand. He looked up at Kuroo, whose heart nearly shattered a second time upon seeing the black bruise forming over his left eye.

"Trying to fight him will only make it worse..." Yaku whispered, throat tight as he choked back tears that threatened to fall and freeze on his cheeks. Kuroo stopped them and leaned down a bit to wipe at his eyes gently so he didn't make the injuries hurt any worse. It snapped something inside him to see Yaku like this. The strong young man he knew in high school, who he argued with and stood confidently beside, had been reduced to nothing but a punching bag. And that infuriated him.

"Not if I don't let him touch you again. I can keep him away now! I-I can keep you safe, and you never have to see him again!" He pleaded, and cradled his face now. Yaku wouldn't look at him now. "He's my dad..."

"He's _hurting_ you! And I'm done with that! If he doesn't like us, then he needs to deal with that shit on his own! But I'm not going to stand by and let him beat you over this, not now that I'm a grown man who can do something! It's our lives, he can't control you anymore!" Kuroo said loudly, forgetting to even be gentle anymore. There was a possibility that he no longer could be. Ever since their junior year when they got together, the two of them had kept their relationship a secret from Yaku's father, a conservative, closed-minded man, who "didn't have a problem with it" until it was his own son.

Kuroo felt responsible for it. If only he hadn't sent that last message, Yaku's father wouldn't have picked up on it. Yaku had been working on finding a place to move to, closer to their Uni, but everything was put on hold for the past week or so when school got a little hectic.

Yaku had fallen asleep and not seen his reply, and when his father came to check on him at the dining room table, he saw the message pop up, as well as the slew of messages before:

_'You should let me come over, I can help you study ;)'_

_'No'_

_'Aw :'( Okay, okay. I'm gonna head to bed. ILY <3'_

And when Yaku's father saw those messages from the young man he'd respected so much as the volleyball team captain, he became livid, knocking his son out of the chair. After, he proceeded to beat him, and Yaku managed to call Kuroo while being kicked over and over again. When Kuroo arrived, he managed to get a punch in, before throwing Yaku's father into the table, and guarding the stairs so Yaku could pack up a quick bag.

Now here they were at one in the morning, walking to Kuroo's apartment in the cold, because Kuroo was still waiting for his car payment to go through so he could go pick it up.  
Yaku's face scrunched, and he let his face fall into Kuroo's chest, as he cried. He'd walked with a limp in his step, and his back hunched, and only now did he finally break. And Kuroo was both devastated and proud, proud that his boyfriend could hold out for so long, tolerating so much bullshit. He almost wanted to call Bokuto and wake him up to tell him how amazing Yaku was. Bokuto would probably agree and fall back to sleep while on the call, completely missing when Kuroo would say he wanted to stay by Yaku's side forever.

It was freezing outside, yet here they were, holding onto each other in the dark, refusing to drift apart. Yaku sniffled against Kuroo's jacket, and lifted his face to look up at him. Kuroo gave him a smile, that same warm smile he'd given him in private since they started dating.

"You're with me now. He can't hurt you again, not while I'm standing here." He said, and pressed their foreheads together. Yaku chuckled lightly. "Such a hero..."

"Your hero." Kuroo snickered, and Yaku pulled away, still holding onto his hand. "Come on, hero. It's cold, and I want to get warm." He said, and they walked with content grins on their faces.  
They walked in silence, peaceful silence, Kuroo letting go of his hand to wrap his arm around his shoulders. With an arm around his waist, Yaku leaned into him. They walked. They walked close, not parting even for the cold.

Light illuminated the path they walked, and now they could see their shadows. Yaku froze, and the cold air turned into his own fear as he glanced over at Kuroo, who turned to look, squinting into the vehicle's headlights. "Is it him?" Asked Yaku, trembling unintentionally.  
"I'm not sure. It doesn't look like it." Kuroo replied with a frown, trying to cover the lights and see the car. It was too dark to see well, but it looked to be a van of sorts. His blood started to run cold when it sat there, having caught them like deer in their own headlights.  
"Come on." He turned and started them on walking again, arm secure around Yaku.

Just when they were at the edge of the light, the light moved farther ahead of them. They both turned this time, and the van was closer. Their stomachs dropped simultaneously.

"Hey,"Yaku whispered, clutching Kuroo's hand tighter with a frown. "You see that too, don't you? The car?" He asked. Kuroo nodded, and ushered Yaku ahead of him to start walking faster. "Go, go. Come on." He didn't take his eyes off the van as they started speed walking, but when it clearly followed them not so slowly, they broke into a run, which turned into a sprint when the van chased them.

They ran so fast they nearly fell when rounding a corner, but holding each other's hands tightly, they kept running. Another van pulled up in front of them from the left, and they skidded to a stop. The fear had set in faster than anything, and there they were, trapped between a brick wall and the gate of a driveway, both aligned with the road. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

On instinct, Kuroo guarded Yaku, especially when two figures exited each van. They were backed against a wall, and blocked from both sides. The house across the street was dark, no car in the driveway. There was no one to watch this happen.

That wasn't so much a concern as the people cornering them were. They were unlike any people either of them had ever seen before. They were seven feet tall if not over it, and they were giants compared to even that four-eyed blonde that Kuroo happened to remember from high school. He was still missing, wasn't he? In fact, almost the whole team was, he recalled. He hadn't been thinking about it lately, not since the last time they appeared on the news. How long ago was that? A few weeks? And right now of all times, the memories were coming back.

Kuroo didn't know what to do but stand his ground. These men towered over them, eyes glowing bright yellow, irises pierced with dark slits that reminded him of a serpent.  
"W-What do you want? You want my money, you can have it." Kuroo started to pull out his wallet, but the man(creature, maybe...?) in front of him raised a gun that he didn't recognize, right at his chest. They didn't speak, but the man did, a snarling grin stretching across his face.

"This just keeps getting easier and easier." Neither young man knew what he meant by that, but before it could be processed, a sharp pain spread through Kuroo's chest, and the side of Yaku's neck. And everything was going dark.

_*_*_*_

A month had passed and still, Hinata wasn't any better. In fact, he just seemed to be getting worse.

"HINATA!"

"HINATA, STOP!"

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING, YOU DUMBASS! WAKE UP!"

They were running, and they had no idea how long they had been doing so. They didn't even know how Hinata got out of the house with Daichi and Asahi sitting at the dining room table.  
It wasn't the first time Hinata sleep-walked. In fact, in the past two weeks, it had happened three times. This was the fourth occurrence, and quite possibly the most bizarre.  
Everyone had gone to bed, and Daichi and Asahi stayed up to fiddle around with some cards they found in one of the kitchen drawers. It was when they saw a head of red hair passing the nearby sliding glass door that they wondered how he was even walking after being bedridden the entire month.

But that was just one of the many wonders that had formed withing the sleepwalking Hinata.

The scary part was that Hinata was only walking, and yet he was so far ahead of them that he was hard to see in the dark, even with their sharp night vision. One moment they would be catching up, and then he'd disappear behind a tree and appear farther ahead. Then again, perhaps that was their panic playing tricks on their eyes.

Nishinoya was the closest, but not even he could catch up, and he was the fastest. "HINATA!" He called, trying to pick up the pace. He'd seen them run out after him from his window, and he and Tanaka jumped out from there and followed. Kageyama managed to catch on in time too, and now the three of them were following Daichi and Asahi.

Twigs and dead leaves snapped under their bare and socked feet, and the cold air surrounding them was brutal enough to cause pain every time the wind blew. But that was the least of Daichi's concern as he sprinted after Hinata. His throat ached from calling him, but not once would he stop, too determined to get him out of the cold and back home where it was safe.  
I just didn't make sense. How did he get outside without being heard? He and Asahi had been sitting right there.

The sound of a truck driving nearby halted his thoughts, and as they gained on Hinata, he looked ahead to see a road. And now he was really running, screaming Hinata's name at the top of his lungs, hoping to God or _SOMEONE_ that they would reach him in time. He could hear more trucks coming, more that would run Hinata over without so much as a slow in speed. But it was like they were running for nothing.

"HINATA, WAKE UP! COME ON, WAKE UP!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, unable to do anything but think about what would happen if they didn't reach him. The boy he'd tried so hard to protect would be gone from the world. No more of his bright eyes every time they had something for dinner that he liked, and no more of his hope for getting better. He'd be gone, and Suga- God, Suga would lose it.

Daichi could hardly shake himself of the thought before he noticed Nishinoya catching up to the younger male. That's right, Nishinoya could run. Daichi almost forgot that, how could he forget? The road was dangerously close, or rather, Hinata was dangerously close to it. And yet there weren't close enough.

Nishinoya wasn't going to make it.

Daichi could hear his own heartbeat in his ears, pounding so hard that it hurt.

Hinata was going to be hit, and there was nothing they could do about it-

And yet, maybe they didn't need to. The trucks sped past, honking their horns, and it was those horns that made Hinata stop in his tracks and stumble before he fell back onto the cold, moist dirt. The boy yelped, crawling backward and hyperventilating, eyes watching the enormous trucks go by in the dark, illuminated only by the light of the moon.

"Hinata!" When he heard their voices and looked back at them, and Nishinoya was just reaching him, dropping to his knees without so much as a loss of breath.  
"He's okay!" The older boy called, and just moments later, the rest of them catching up and Daichi kneeling into the dirt to grab a hold of Hinata's shoulder.

"Hinata- My God are you alright?" He checked him frantically for any injuries, and luckily he had nothing but muddy feet and light scrapes from the low-hanging tree branches.

The others visibly relaxed, though they were still riled up from the chase.  
"Jeez, man...do we have to tie you down or somethin'? This is getting kinda ridiculous." Tanaka panted, eyeing a nearby tree that seemed to loom over them.  
Truthfully, he hadn't been a huge fan of the dark since they escaped.

Hinata looked around in confusion, hand clutching Daichi's sleeve, before he looked to him. "I-It happened again...? Didn't it?" He asked, and Daichi hated that he had to look at the fear in his eyes. But he nodded, and carefully lifted Hinata into his arms, sighing when the younger clung to his neck and buried his face in his shoulder. "Let's just get you home."  
He was the first to start walking, and the others followed with Asahi taking up the rear.

The gentle giant honestly didn't know what to think of this new oddity. He'd never seen anyone sleepwalk, but he'd also never seen anyone seemingly teleport.

Back at the lodge, Suga was shaking after hearing that dear Hinata had just about gotten squashed by a string of trucks. He'd gone with Daichi and Kageyama up to the room that the two younger males shared, and Kageyama climbed back into his own bed, watching Daichi stop at Hinata's bed on the left of his own closest to the door.

Suga frowned at the pile of black feathers in the center of the mattress, and after picking out each one, Daichi laid Hinata on the bed, and thankfully noted that he wasn't running a fever. Once again, Hinata was asleep. When they were gone, Kageyama watched Hinata.

So small and so still, and yet so much of a mystery. They still didn't know what was wrong with him, now running a fever at some point every day. He slept more than any of them did, and Kageyama was ashamed to admit that he occasionally found himself sitting beside his sleeping form, checking him for a fever and referring to the bowl of cool water if needed.  
Now this.

Kageyama never had much to say these days, not when it came to anything about the Facility. He couldn't even say the word. But he could think it, and think it he did, every time he cursed them for ruining those who had never deserved such pain. Like now, when he watched sleeping Hinata with a glare, gripping the covers to tight they might tear.

What had they done to him?

Eventually in his state of anger, he fell asleep, frown etched into his forehead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LAST HOLIDAY GIFT!
> 
> I hope you like it, it's my favorite and I had so much fun writing it! Hopefully I can update more frequently, but I can't make promises because my circumstances are still squaring themselves out.
> 
> Much love, Pie!~

It started with a touch. A small one, one that would wake someone who slept as soundly as Hinata. It was fingers running softly over his eyebrow and then his cheek, and going back toward his hair that was slowly but surely growing. He didn't so much as stir.

It was the hand of a stranger caressing him with care, no harm done, at least not on the outside.

It was the eyes of Kageyama watching, wide and alarmed, afraid to move and give himself away.

"Are you done?"

Holy shit, there was another one. But where? From his position lying on his side, he couldn't see anything else- let alone a person.

"Not yet. He...he looks so different." Said the one standing- no, was he crouching? Crouching over Hinata's stomach?

"We have more important things to take care of. You know that. You'll have plenty of time to look at him later."

The one Kageyama could see didn't reply. He wasn't too big, really, in fact, Kageyama could probably take him if he were fast enough. But then, where was the other? They sounded close, and yet, he couldn't pinpoint their location in the room, no matter how good his hearing actually was.

The figure was moving again, and suddenly leaning toward Hinata's ear. It was more of a straddle now, and it made Kageyama's blood boil.

"I'm sorry, Shouyo." He could just barely hear, and now he was sure he knew that voice. Maybe that terrified him.

The figure was slipping down off of Hinata's bed now, and Kageyama could see the other stranger coming into view, significantly taller than the second. The shorter one disappeared out of sight, seemingly opening the window. The taller was scooping Hinata up in their arms, and made their way out of sight toward the window, both doors wide open to allow them to slip through.

Kageyama's heart was racing, and as he threw the covers off, he made a point to think at the loudest volume he can that they needed help. Hopefully Tsukishima would hear it.

When he stood, the intruders were frozen, the larger handing Hinata off to the shorter as he slipped back inside the room.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" He asked lowly, trying to be careful and keeping an eye on the shorter, who was still on the roof. It didn't look like they could pick Hinata up, so that was something. When the taller of the two stood in front of Kageyama, he became sure that they were male. He smelled like THEM.

"This doesn't concern you. If you turn a blind eye, you get to keep your life."

Kageyama glared furiously, blood so hot under his skin that it could melt it off with some supernatural power. "Bullshit it doesn't, you're not getting out of here with him, and you can try. But there's no way in hell I'm letting you." He prepared himself, ready to fight, and the intruder sighed softly, face dark and hidden as he appeared to understand that there was no other way.

"Fine. But don't hold me responsible for your injuries."

Kageyama was the first to move, lunging in for a hard punch that the intruder easily dodged, moving backwards and making an aim for his stomach, which Kageyama managed to block with his forearm. The scuffle quickly turned into a full blown fight, and Kageyama had him by the collar, throwing him against the wall and making it shake.  
He went for another punch, only for his fist to jam into the wall instead of the intruder's face, and intruder took the chance to knee him in the stomach.

It hurt, but Kageyama kept his grip and flung him into the dresser, causing the intruder to slam into it with his side. As Kageyama went for him again, he ducked around him and grabbed him by the sleeve and the back of his head, slamming his face down onto the top of the dresser, which hurt worse than a knee to the stomach.  
But Kageyama wasn't giving up, and managed to kick his leg out and knock the other's out from under him, taking them both to the floor in a heap of grabs, scratches, and punches.

This guy was strong, Kageyama noted, but he could take him, he knew he could. He had to, since the other and Hinata were still sitting outside the window.

The door to the room busted open in a hurry, revealing a concerned Daichi and Suga. In an instant, Daichi was rushing over to help the situation, almost there when the masked intruder threw Kageyama off and made the two collide, allowing himself a hasty escape through the window, leaping off the roof with Hinata and the shorter intruder in his arms. In just a few moments, he shot up past the window, two large feathered masses carrying him into the night sky, and only Hinata in his arms.

"Shit! Get Hinata! Tanaka, Asahi, Tsukishima!" Daichi shouted, trying to help Kageyama steady himself.

"On it!" Shouted Tanaka, sprinting toward the window and diving out, unfurling his wings to keep from hitting the ground.

"How did they even get in if the window was latched?" Asked Asahi, coming up on his left as they weaved between trees to stay caught up.

"Who cares about that? They've got Hinata!" Shouted Tanaka, trying to pick up the pace. This guy was fast, he could give him that, and his smell wasn't familiar, so he could have been _anyone_. And this _anyone_ was trying to take Hinata away.

"He'll have to kill me before I let him get away!"

A few moments later, Tsukishima was visible on the right, and so was Yamaguchi, who had refused to stay behind if Hinata was involved. It was a surprise to see him, especially after he'd been motionless during dinner, and Tsukishima took him to bed early because of it.

"Tsukishima, who is this guy?!" Asked Tanaka, eyes focused on the red hair he could just catch a glimpse of from his distance away. The intruder glanced back and threw something, something sharp that whizzed by Tanaka's face- he was the closest- and sliced his cheek just a bit. He hissed and rubbed the blood from his skin, just narrowly dodging another blade being thrown. The intruder was throwing faster than he could dodge, and finally, one pierced his shoulder. He yelled in pain, and only fell behind a little bit as he carefully pulled the blade out of his shoulder. But that wasn't enough to stop him.

Ahead, Hinata began to stir in the arms of his captor, from the gusts of air constantly blowing at him, and the tight grip that kept him from falling.  
His eyes slid open, and the first thing he saw over his holder's shoulder were Asahi, Tanaka, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi, all flying. Flying after him. But he wasn't flying, why were they chasing him? And who smelled like alcohol?

Clinging to the stranger's clothing, Hinata turned and looked up at his face, but it was obscured by the dark mask he wore.

"Hinata, hold on! We're coming!" He could hear Yamaguchi call, and he started to panic, squirming and trying to push himself out of his arm.  
The captor took them to the right, turning them and causing Hinata to hold onto him.  
"Stop squirming," The stranger said. "Or I _will_ let you fall."  
And now Hinata _had_ to wait to be saved. Because right now, he was too weak to fly. "G-Guys, hurry!" He cried out, and tried to reach for them.

They weren't as far as they seemed, for they were steadily catching up. Suddenly he and his captor were darting straight up, putting Hinata's full weight down against his shoulder and making him gasp. He'd never gone so fast before, and maybe only Nishinoya had.

He didn't understand the abrupt change until he could see a tree receding. It appeared it had grown higher to block their path, but when he blinked, it was the smallest thing.

"Dammit, that didn't work!" Asahi cursed, and they followed him up out of the trees, into the free night sky, painted silhouettes under a white moon.

'I know who you are.' Said Tsukishima. 'Why don't you give up? Maybe no one will hurt you. We might be able to help.'

'You don't know anything. I'm telling you to stay out of it. Please just go back.'

'That's where you're horribly wrong. I know everything.' And it was the truth.

Hinata couldn't believe how high up they were. The world below was now a blended layer of black on the Earth's surface, a dark mystery to be left alone. He couldn't imagine wandering those thick woods alone. "Let go of me!"He shouted, and tried to kick, effectively jabbing his bare foot into the male's rib cage.

"Calm down, you don't understand-"

"I said let go!" Hinata yelled, and at that moment, he was someone else, someone entirely different. His skin grew hot in an instant, hotter than it had ever been- hotter than humanly possible.  
The masked male hissed, and while he tried to hold onto Hinata, his own skin burned just from the contact. He stopped flying, trying to keep his grip and get to his destination. But even the ginger's hair seemed to grow bright- had he seen correctly? Well, what else could be lighting up the sky around them, so golden and red.

What in God's name was happening?

"Wh-What are you?" He whispered, and Hinata couldn't believe that he was as bright as a star. He looked down at his skin bathed on a bright orange light, hot and yet never hurting. He didn't feel weak like he had just hours ago, but invigorated- alive! He felt amazing, like he could run miles and never get tired, or fly until his wings gave out- only they never would!

And yet, the boy was afraid, yelping and starting to panic as it became hard to see through the light.

Now around them, the other males came to a halt, eyes widening at the bright light that was their Hinata, who had just been pale for an entire month.

"Woah. When I said I wanted to see color in his face, this ain't what I meant...!" Tanaka said, wowing as bits of the light seemed to flicker off into the night sky, like fire.

"H-Help! Make it stop! Make me stop!" Hinata shouted, pushing himself away. With the stranger's skin burning, he struggled to keep hold, hissing in pain as Hinata dropped from his arms. The boy's skin was too hot to bear.

Hinata fell from the sky fast, and with the wind, the bizarre heat blew away with ease like a layer of dust. He reached, yelling for them, terrified of what pain his useless wings would bring to him.

The stranger was about to go after him, but with the others all blocking his way and Asahi grabbing him, he was trapped.

When Hinata fell into Kageyama's arms, he curled in on himself, trembling.

"Hey, are you okay?"

He looked up when he heard that voice, and for the first time, he was happy for the contact. Kageyama's arms held him tightly and carefully, instead of in a headlock or some other uncomfortable position.

"Talk to me, dammit! Did he hurt you?!" Kageyama pressed, eyes feverish and desperate. Hinata's lip quivered as every emotion came to a head, and he slung his arms around Kageyama's neck, hiding his face in his shoulder. When he shook his head, Kageyama let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and flew up to meet the others, who were holding his attacker straight.

_*_*_*_

Suga's foot tapped endlessly as he stood on the porch, watching the sky intently for the rest of the murder to come back. The scratches he'd recieved from chasing the shorter intruder were itching and burning all the same, and his eyelids felt on fire with restlessness. It felt like ages since he and Daichi returned with the second intruder, only after minutes of chasing him in the woods. All it took was a little bit of Daichi breaking a tree in half and having the target run into it when it fell.

"They should be back by now." Said Suga, eyes darting from star to star as if they would emerge from one of the white dots.

"They will be. That guy was fast, we have to be patient." Daichi replied, eyes rolling over the sky just a little slower than Suga's.

Suga scoffed in disbelief. "Patient? There _is_ no patient! It's the middle of the night, in the middle of winter, and they're out there while we're here!" He nearly shouted. He couldn't help panicking, not after what they had been through. Especially not after there was someone in the lodge without their knowledge, and they managed to get away with helpless Hinata. Daichi turned to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Koushi, we couldn't let him go! So he could go back to whoever brought them here? They're coming back!" He told him, and he knew he had to be right. Because any longer and he would lose his mind.

But there in the distance, between the trees, Daichi caught sight of their shadows. "There they are!"  
Sure enough, the boys were getting closer, and in a matter of seconds, they were starting to land.

If Suga cried, his tears would surely freeze on his cheeks, but he didn't care. He nearly sprinted the short distance over, immediately checking Tanaka's wound.  
But when Hinata and Kageyama landed, he left him to Daichi.

"Oh God, Shouyo!" He cried, taking them both into his arms. "You scared me to death! Are you alright?" He asked, checking the ginger for injuries. Nothing but hot skin and trembling. Hinata couldn't even tear himself away from Kageyama's shoulder, and Suga took that as a sign to just get him inside where he was safe. He couldn't even comprehend what had just happened- they had come so close to losing Hinata just like that, and it shook him to his core.

Running his fingertips through Hinata's low hair and eyeing the intruder, Suga glared. "All of you inside. Now, before you catch the flu." He ushered everyone in, catching Daichi's relieved, proud words before they were all inside the warm lodge.

The intruder, who didn't so much as struggle in Asahi's grasp, seemed to be panicking, scanning the room over and over.

"He's upstairs," frowned Daichi, getting the fireplace started. "How many of you are there?" He asked, and tossed the matchbox aside, nodding for Kageyama to take Hinata over to it. Naturally, the rest of them followed to warm up.

"It's just us. Please, don't hurt him. We didn't have a choice-"

"Really? I'd might believe that better if you told us who you are. What the hell you're doing here." Suga said coldly, holding a shaken Hinata against his side and running his fingertips through his hair. He was pissed- no, furious! He didn't know who this was, but if he weren't so tactful, he may just unleash a can of whoop-ass on him for daring to lay a hand on his own.

The masked intruder was hesitant, looking between each of them with his eyes lingering on Tsukishima. Tanaka raised a metal fist threateningly, eyebrows furrowed hard and angrily, as Asahi went to helping him bandage the wound.

The stranger sighed and reached behind his head to start undoing the buckles of the mask. Hearts raced with anticipation.

But when he pulled down the mask and revealed his face, frowns disappeared, and breaths hitched. Tsukishima was the only one who looked unimpressed, yet still a small frown of disapproval lingering on his face.

That hair, black as night, and those beautiful eyes that had once held so much life and elegance- now they were broken, with circles so dark around them that the murder themselves didn't hold a candle to him. He was paler than they remembered, and his lips were set in a thin line even as he opened his mouth to speak no words.

The blonde was the first to speak, studying the older male's eyes with a pain he didn't want to admit.

"Akaashi-san."

Akaashi held his gaze for a moment, and he spoke in that suddenly familiar monotone voice. Only now, it was lower, deeper, full of a sorrow that aligned with their own.

"Hello, Tsukishima."

The distant sound of a toilet flushing filled their ears, and a few moments later, Nishinoya was rounding the corner, squinting at the light, but eyebrow raising at the sight before him.

"...You guys look like hell. What'd I miss?"

No one responded, still in shock. Eyes locked onto Akaashi, Suga was the first to speak. "But...that's impossible, you- the memorial, you were just at the memorial." He nearly whispered.

Akaashi averted his narrow gaze to the floor, eyebrows falling over his eyes. "No...I wasn't."

That was even more of a shock than his presence. Daichi shook his head. "That's impossibe, we just saw you last month on the news." But Akaashi shook his head next, barely meeting his eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you, but it wasn't me. It wasn't us."

"Us?" Whispered Asahi, and Akaashi nodded. "I won't explain until you let me see him. I promised I'd look after him."

Movement was slow, but Daichi and Asahi guided him up the stairs, unsure if they were supposed to be defensive or not. Everything Akaashi had said so far said so, but his demeanor said otherwise. Akaashi didn't seem malicious, or angry, but...he seemed hurt. Not by them and their precautions, but by something else- _someone else_.

Daichi opened the upstairs bathroom door, the only room that didn't have a window, and in the tub was the second intruder, curled up with his knees to his chest. Akaashi darted in and inspected his clothes arms for injuries. "Are you alright, Kozume?"

The second figure simply nodded, and Daichi could swear he heard that name somewhere, maybe in a conversation between Kageyama and Hinata back before the Facility.  
Asahi looked to Daichi with wary eyes, and Daichi nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder before speaking to the others.

"Let's go. He's fine." He said, and Akaashi glanced back at them with something in his eyes that they couldn't decipher.

Once back downstairs, the second intruder slowly removed his mask, mostly cowering behind Akaashi as his identity was revealed.

"K-Kenma?!" Gasped Hinata, and Kenma, whose hair looked like it had been cut recently, wouldn't meet his eyes. Instead, he clung to the back of Akaashi's shirt, eyes shiny and low.

"You've got him," Said Daichi, nodding toward the couch. "Now please explain. What do you mean you were never at the memorial?"

Rather quickly, the two sat down, Kenma keeping his eyes low and avoiding the eyes that he could feel watching him. Akaashi held their gazes though, and wouldn't let go, with eyes hard and serious as he leaned forward to prop his forearms on his knees.

"The people you saw on the news attending your memorial, weren't us. When I said us, I mean Kenma and myself, Lev, Yaku, Kuroo, and Kouta- Bokuto-san..." He averted his gaze at the end.

The room was in silence, and everyone seemed genuinely interested. Especially Tsukishima, whose face seemed to contort into a harder frown every few seconds. Suga noticed this, and Akaashi appeared to as well, sighing. "You know, then..." He sighed, and nodded, straightening up and taking a deep breath as he prepared to explain.

"I'd say it was a week after the last of you disappeared. We were going to help search, and planned to go to Miyagi. But we never got to. People I'd never seen before came out of nowhere, and before I knew it, I was surrounded. Then I was in the back of a van, falling unconscious. When I woke up, I was in a cage, and...well, that was only the beginning. Apparently, you weren't the only ones they were after."

A rush of tears hit Suga's eyes, and he ran a hand through his hair. "This is..." He shook his head.

"Awful." Akaashi nodded. "And they..."

Yamaguchi finished it, clenching his hands into fists. "T-Turned you into something else. Like us..." He whispered, and Tsukishima turned to him.

"Tadashi-"

Akaashi cut him off. "Yes. There was no way out. They tossed your names around a few times, before it was all numbers. Numbers that they gave us, and others that we didn't understand. There was...so much pain, and we just went on every day, because if we didn't, we wouldn't make it. We didn't know what we were making it for. Maybe ourselves, or the off chance that we got to go home."

Kenma fidgeted uncomfortably, and while it was shattering to listen to Akaashi words, for it was exactly was they'd experienced and felt. To think that they were the only ones was foolish, but to learn that people they knew were suffering at the same time was heartbreaking.

A tear trickled down Kenma's cheek, and he quickly wiped it away, leaning tiredly into Akaashi's side.

"And they did that to you?" Asked Daichi, referring to the gray wings that had previously sprouted out of Akaashi's back. Akaashi rubbed his arms, but nodded. "We're not the same anymore."

"Join the club. What the hell was that shit upstairs?" Snapped Kageyama, arms crossed in irritation. After all, his face was the one aching after being slammed onto the dresser, and there was a small bruise on his forehead as a result. Akaashi quickly apologized, but Kageyama wasn't going to be so forgiving, rightfully so.

"We really didn't have a choice. They tasked us with finding Hinata, and told us that if we did, we wouldn't have to sleep in the cages anymore. Not the best motivation, but when they told us why they needed him, we really didn't have a choice. There was an accident recently, and doctors and experiments alike got injured. But some of the most valuable are unstable." He explained. "In their words."

"But..." Hinata spoke up. "Why me? I can't save anyone, I mean- I can heal a little, but for myself. I don't understand." He said, eyebrows raised. Kenma glanced up at him and their eyes met, drawing more tears to pool over Kenma's lashlines.

"They want your blood." He said just above a whisper, but still audible enough for them all to hear.

"What?!" Suga gasped, and his grip on Hinata tightened. The ginger himself sat frozen, processing what he'd just heard. "My...blood?"

"No! No way in hell!" Suga shouted, and Kenma flinched.

It was appalling and simultaneously one of the most terrifying things they'd ever heard.

"Hold on, that doesn't mean we're going to let them. This just means we're going to have a couple guests tonight." Daichi said sheepishly, but when he turned to their guests, his grin was sure.

"Daichi, what?! After they broke in here and tried to take Hinata? I got stabbed!" Tanaka protested, gesturing to his bandaged shoulder. "Stabbed, man!"

"I know, but listen. If it were us, would you want to be sent back into the cold? Who knows what'll happen if they go back empty-handed. We know just as well that those people aren't anything to take lightly." Daichi replied, and Tanaka went to speak again, but Suga cut him off.

"It's not up for discussion. I think it's best that we all get back to bed and we'll discuss it in the morning. You don't have to worry about anything for now." He said, and Daichi nodded.

They seemed dissatisfied with that, but Tanaka relented and started on his way to the stairs. Kageyama grunted, but took Hinata bridal style, carrying him up the stairs.

"No, really," Said Nishinoya, following them. "What the hell did I miss? Guys? Come on!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still editing this!!!

When morning came, it came gradually, taking its time in gracing the Earth with its golden light. The snow that layered the ground had grown thicker with the arrival of morning, and Daichi observed so as he looked through the window in the bedroom he shared with Suga.

Thankfully, a tree blocked the sun's light, and he watched small birds flutter around the treetops outside the house. He briefly thought of Hinata with his twelve foot wingspan, fluttering about in the sky, gliding. He listened to feet plant themselves on the wooden floor and softly pad over to where he was standing, before he felt familiar arms snake around his waist and a head press against the nape of his neck.

Suga's warmth was a pleasant counter to the cold emanating off the glass. Daichi tilted his head back until it met the top of Suga's. "Morning."

"Good morning." Suga replied softly, and Daichi could tell something wasn't right. "What's wrong?" He asked after a few beats of silence. The only response was the silence, so he lifted a hand to gently rest over the one clutching his side. "Is this about last night?"

"I just..." Suga appeared to hesitate. "I just don't like it. It's too simple. Come here, get Hinata, go back. Would Katsumata have ever trusted us with something like that?"

Daichi could understand where he was coming from, who couldn't? People they used to know tried to abduct one of their own, and they hardly knew if they could trust them. They didn't even know who gave the order- Katsumata or someone else under him. Either way, he would be at the top, and that was all they knew.

The taller male turned around in Suga's arms, and reached up to cup his cheeks. "Listen to me. I know it all seems...strange. Hell, it _is_ strange, babe. But we're connected to this, and we're in it whether we like it or not. We've been okay so far, and we'll continue to be careful."

Suga pressed a hand of his own to the one on his right cheek, and sighed. "It could be a set up."

"And if that's the case, then we'll be ready. That's something we have to be prepared for, you know it. After what we went through, we can't just run and hope that it doesn't catch up to us."  
Daichi pulled Suga's hand to his lips, and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "We're going to figure it all out. But they're here now, and letting them go back with our location is one of the worst things we can do."

A startling yelp rang their ears, and Suga looked out the window, catching sight of a fleeting head of red hair before it was gone down below. Curiously, Suga opened the window and peeked his head out, eyebrows raising at the sight.

"What're you doing out there? Are you okay?" He asked, and Hinata's head tilted back to reveal his slightly flushed face, bright hair sprinkled with snow. He was hilariously submerged in it, and the only parts of him visible were his head down to his shoulders and arms that managed to stay above it. There were no footprints in the snow, adding confusion to the bewilderment.

"I think so! I sneezed and fell into that tree up there- Somehow!" He pointed up to it, and the older males laughed. "But then the branch broke, and I fell! And it's really cold! Can you help?" He called.

Daichi and Suga looked at each other and Suga shook his head, before Daichi followed him out of the room. "I guess it's safe to say Hinata's more gifted than we thought."  
By the time they got outside, Nishinoya was already standing in the snow that was just at his knees, holding onto Hinata's hands and trying to pull him out of the snow.

Upon seeing the snow flooding in from the front door, Daichi groaned. "Come on, Noya!" He complained, kicking some of it back outside. From upstairs, Tsukishima leaned sleepily over the banister on the second level, looking out over the living room and the front door off to the side.

Noticing him, Suga waved. "I'm gonna cook, why don't you come help!" He suggested. The blonde looked back over his shoulder at the door to the room he shared with Yamaguchi, and went down the stairs.

Outside, Nishinoya's hand slipped from Hinata's, causing him to stumble back into the snow himself, momentarily disappearing. Hinata couldn't help but laugh, and when Nishinoya heard it, he felt himself smirk. It took Asahi to lift the shorty out of the deep snow, and he aimed to carry him until he shook his head.

"It's okay, I think I can walk."

Asahi was apprehensive, but put Hinata on his feet. Sure enough, the ginger didn't fall. His legs didn't shake, and he took careful steps forward, before he started to run through the snow, smile on his face wide as he exclaimed in excitement.

"Wait! Hinata, come back!"

But he was already gone. He jumped over rocks, jumped just to feel the icy air whip through his loose-fitting clothes and his hair that was just long enough to feel it. This was joy, he realized. It was feeling free, not weighed down by illness or fear. He finally felt alive, after so long of being sick. He wondered if he had even been sick in the first place; he felt so good that he could almost forget that he'd even been sick.

When he landed, the snow kicked up around him, and when he flapped his wings, he felt like he was in a snow globe. It was a beauty he could finally get to appreciate, and his heart raced with adrenaline, smile never fading for even a second, even when his breath started to run out.

Still, he kept running, craving the life of the wind and the cold of the snow under his bare feet. He glanced over his shoulder to see no one following, but he wasn't too worried, for he didn't plan to go far. Finally, he skidded to a stop, a few yards away from the road that he almost died in last night. It looked so different during the day, especially when there were cop cars lining it and completely blocking him off from the town that was in the distance.

Darting behind a tree, Hinata crouched in the brush surrounding it, and watched, trying in vain to slow his panting and keep quiet.

There was a car flipped in the road, a devastating wreck of a black van. A little farther over, a truck similar to one of those that almost ran him over, not nearly as destroyed as the van, which had been completely totaled. There was blood staining the ground, seeping out in pools from the upside down windows.

Taking one final breath, Hinata slowed his beating heart and tuned into the distant conversation, only able to pick up bits and pieces.

"Collision," and "black hair found at the scene," and other words that explained how the vehicles collided and someone escaped from the crash unscathed.

"By some miracle," They said.

That was a relief, Hinata thought, and squinted to watch the figures move about as other vehicles arrived on the scene. Only, these were not police cruisers or ambulances, or anything of the sort. No, these were vans. Hinata's eyes widened as he could see into the window of the first of many. A woman with a straight face driving- not one he recognized, but beside her was the owner of a face that made Hinata sick to his stomach.

And yet, the boy didn't move even an inch, only watched with wide eyes as the police officers glanced around in confusion, making their way toward the long line of vans pulling up.  
God, he wanted to warn them. He wanted to shout to them to pull out their guns and stop them, or fucking **RUN IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION**, because these people are more dangerous than the police could ever be. 

But he was frozen in place. Besides, did he want to give himself away? Or would he rather those officers take his place in the eye of attention?

The sickening exited the car with a large coat keeping him warm, eyes squinted against the pale light of the winter morning. He seemed to speak as the others in their black clothing exited the other vans. The police were trying to confront them now, gesturing for them to leave. There were at least seven vans that he could count, and Hinata didn't realize he had stopped breathing. He could hear his heartbeat pounding away in his ear, so aggressive that he couldn't hear a thing they were saying.

_'They're here- Oh God, oh God, they found us, they fucking found us- we're going back, we're going back- they're going to take us back, they found us, they're here- he's here, he found us-'_ The ginger's mind raced beyond his control, panicked thought after panicked thought sending him spiraling into a cold sweat of pure fear.

Could they see him?

Could they hear his heart as well as he could?

Could they hear his thoughts, or the tears that threatened to burst from his eyes?

The sound of guns going off made him jump, and he landed on his bottom in the cold snow, having back away on instinct. Above, he could hear the crows caw and flee the noise, and see the branches of the trees they sat in waving from their escape. Hinata couldn't do the same.

Instead, he watched as the police laid across the ground, blood splattered over their cruisers, staining the innocent white of snow with a tainted, sinful red. By now his hands trembled with the cold and terror, and now he was sure he was no longer fuctioning properly. The sickening pocketed the gun carefully as if it were his most prized possession, and for the first time he could see his face clearly as he looked to the trees where the crows feld.

He scanned them all slowly, patiently, even, but Hinata was too scared to move, and surely his bright red hair would stand out against the snow.

He had to move, he couldn't take sitting here and waiting to be caught. He shifted his foot underneath him, but there was no opening as Katsumata's eyes came closer to finding his face. He'd have to make a break for it, even if it put everyone in danger, at least that's what he thought.

Hinata's heart nearly stopped when a hand slapped over his mouth and dragged him down into the snow, holding him still. He struggled in fear, only to freeze when the stranger's other arm wrapped securely around him, and a familiar voice near his ear shushed him. It was then that that he recognized the scent. Asahi.

Hinata craned his neck to look up at him, but Asahi's wide, alert eyes were focused on Nishinoya, who was in the tree above. Hinata wondered how he'd gotten up there without being seen, but that was the least of his worries as he listened to Asahi's heart pound in his ears.

Up in the tree, Nishinoya could go unseen, simply thanks to Asahi fooling reality into accepting him as part of the earth. In other words, from what Hinata could see, Nishinoya blended in so well that when the older male sat still, he couldn't see him. Nishinoya squinted, his own heart racing a mile a minute at the sight of the people they had been trying so hard to avoid. He took a breath, glancing down at Asahi, who nodded his head in their direction.

Carefully, cautiously, Nishinoya stood and leapt to a sturdy-looking branch on the next tree over, aiming to get a closer look. He froze when Katsumata looked his way, and felt sick when the man looked away in an instant, not having seen him at all. Of course Nishinoya trusted Asahi, and in fact, that trust ran deeper than he could explain. But who wouldn't have doubts? Especially since he'd hardly ever seen Asahi's abilities in action. Warping reality wasn't exactly the most believable thing, and yet those freaks managed to do it.

Blinking the thoughts away, Nishinoya crept along the branch, skipping to the ones closer and closer until he was at the very edge of the treeline. He listened.

"They were here, sir. O7 and C2."

"Tell me something I don't already know. Like where they've gone. That would be much more help than you stating the obvious." Katsumata snapped back at the man, who then held out his hand. Nishinoya could see that it was hair, or fur of some kind, colored back and sprinkled with dried blood. He gulped, but as the wind picked up and carried the scent, his eyes widened as he recognized it.

"This was caught in the windshield, sir. We're sure it belongs to C2. Based on what we've already found, I believe it's safe to say that they aren't far." The man pointed to the treeline, and Nishinoya's stomach dropped as Katsumata turned to face it, squinting into the sunlight. The boy spared a glance a few trees back to the others, sighing softly when they were invisible among the snow. Snapping his gaze back to the adults, he shivered as the cold went right through him.

"I see the footprints. And you felt you needed to inform me before you did your job? Have you at least sent someone to follow them?"

"Already done."

Now Nishinoya really felt like he'd be sick. How had they not seen anyone come by? From which direction had they entered the woods?  
It didn't matter, it was time to get back to the lodge. Carefully, he made his way back to the first tree, and dropped down where he was sure neither Hinata or Asahi were hiding.

"We've gotta go, they sent people to the house." He said urgently, watching as the two slowly reappeared before him, not having moved an inch. In seconds, they were up in the trees, moving about quickly to hopefully get ahead. But on their way, they never saw anyone. And that was more cause for alarm than getting kicked out of a hotel in winter, or wings reacting to water stimulation.

There were footprints. But no owners.

_*_*_*_

Laughter drifted out of the kitchen into the unoccupied areas of the house, delighted rambles warming the atmosphere. When Akaashi peeked into the kitchen, it all came to, mostly.

"Morning," Suga greeted Akaashi apprehensively but with a smile as the dark-haired male gingerly entered the kitchen, glancing around. Tsukishima sat at the table- grudgingly, mind you -arguing with Kageyama over cutting tomatoes.

The morning sun shone in through the windows, lighting the home with a warmth that Akaashi hadn't known in over a year. Off to the side, helping cut peeled potatoes, Daichi nodded at him with a grin, and Tanaka, peeling potatoes, glanced at him, only to turn away with a distasteful scowl.

"Good morning..." He replied lowly, slowly taking a seat across from Tsukishima, who regarded him with a nod. It was enough for Akaashi, who would have preferred to stay quiet and ponder the things he'd felt the night before.

"Was the mattress okay? It was all we had..." Suga said, looking back at the cutting board moistened with the juice of cucumbers. Akaashi hummed. "It was perfect, thank you. If you believe it, it felt like a cloud." He grinned a bit, but it faded rapidly as he could feel the eyes of the younger males watching.

Suga nodded. "Compared to the cage, I would imagine. Where's Kenma?"

Akaashi fidgeted in his seat, wings tingling under his skin. "Still resting. He's dealing with migraines lately."  
Suga hummed, and after that there was an awkward silence heavily plaguing the air, until a knife clattered on the counter and Tanaka stormed out, sparing another glare to Akaashi.

"Tanaka!" Daichi called, but a door slammed upstairs. Daichi sighed, and lifted the bowls and peeler Tanaka had been using, before setting them in front of Akaashi.

"You don't mind helpin' out, do you?" Daichi asked, but it didn't sound like a question. So Akaashi picked up the peeler and a rinsed potato, and got to peeling. Even as conversation started up and the awkwardness mostly fled with Tanaka, there was something swirling through the air, a wind of knowledge among denial.

Among the sounds of cutting vegetables and peeling, and water running, Tsukishima and Kageyama picked up their argument again.

Tsukishima frowned. "I just showed you, how are you still this bad at it? Jesus-"

"Shut up, Tsukishima! Remember I'm holding a knife!"

"What, is that a threat?"

"It fucking might be!"

Daichi rolled his eyes and snatched the knife from Kageyama's grip. "Honestly, can you two even cut these without arguing? This is why nothing gets done."

Kageyama went to oppose. "But-"

"Nope."

"Kageyama can't even-"

"Nuh-uh, nope."

"Daichi-san-"

"No. Sit down, shut up, and cut the damn vegetables." Daichi said matter of factly, flipping the knife and handing it back to Kageyama with an exasperation in his eyes that Akaashi found amusingly parental.

"You sound like their father," He said before he knew he was doing so, and he watched Kageyama and Tsukishima's ears turn red, and Kageyama's face mold into a pout, and Suga glance back at them with a grin.

Daichi glanced back at the boys, before a grin stretched his cheeks. "I have to nowadays. Otherwise, these two would run amok with their attitudes." He chuckled, and the two looked up at him with frowns, but didn't speak.

Akaashi's own smile was pasted to his face, and he had to be careful not to knick his finger while still peeling. The home gave off a much different feeling than it did last night. No longer so cold and cautious, but loving and warm, a feeling that made him nostalgically sick to his stomach. He missed it, and yet here he was unable to take so much of it after so long of deprivation.

Noticing his discomfort, Suga opened his mouth to speak. "He's not wrong. Out here, we've had to rely on each other just to stay a step ahead of them. I have a feeling they won't be giving up any time soon." He sighed, and searched Akaashi's eyes for a reaction. Akaashi only seemed to agree.

"Believe me, they aren't giving up. They've been falling apart recently, but that doesn't mean anything." He explained, and both Suga stopped what they were doing to look at him.  
Daichi raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?" He asked. Akaashi sat for a moment, and gazed down at the potato resting in his palm. "I mean even the doctors are acting unusual. Not as abusive, in a way. They've started to make changes, moving subjects upstairs into rooms, according to some of the others." He explained.

Daichi and Suga glanced at each other, and the light-haired male smoke. "They're making changes." He said, and Daichi's eyebrows furrowed. "Do you think they had a weird change of heart?"

"I'm not sure. But I don't like the way it sounds. We're still going to keep our distance for now. Akaashi-san,"

Akaashi looked up.

"Do you know anything else? Anything at all?"

For a moment, Akaashi was quiet, a wave of relief rushing over him. He'd been wanting to   
Akaashi averted his gaze to the table, taking a moment to prepare himself for all of the things he'd learned simply by putting up a fight and getting them to touch him. After all, that was his thing now. Touch.

He opened his mouth to speak, only to halt at the sound of gunshots. Many, many gunshots. They echoed outside, and into the lodge, reverberating off the walls and surrounding their ears with its distant pound.

"What the hell was that?" Asked Daichi, rushing to the front door and looking out the window beside it. "You all heard that?"  
Kageyama frowned, dropping his knife and following him. "No shit we heard that! Is it hunters?" He asked, and Tsukishima arose from the table, heading toward the stairs, stopping when Yamaguchi stood at the top of them in his disheveled clothing. Kenma could be seen not too far behind him, and he rushed down the stairs to join Akaashi, who put a hand on his shoulder.

"Guys!" Tanaka shouted, head peeking out of one of the upstairs rooms- this one he shared with Asahi and Nishinoya. "Come see this, hurry up! We've got a big fucking problem!" He said, and Daichi put his hand up for the other to wait while he and Suga rushed upstairs.

Kageyama's hands were clenched into painful fists, fingernails digging sharply into his skin, which hurt like hell, but at the moment, it was a thought he pushed back as the thought of intrusion breached his thoughts. "Tsukishima, do you you hear anything?" He asked the blonde, whose hand Yamaguchi had latched onto.

The blonde remained silent, eyes closing as he listened. At first, there was nothing, to hear, nothing that could verify there was anyone coming. Not until all the voices came all at once, and then so did the commotion. In the living room they could hear a window breaking, and more followed, forcing them to run. The couple ducked behind the couch closest to the stairs, and the others behind the one that curled around in a half U shape.

Yamaguchi hadn't wanted this out of his morning, and that was only putting it lightly when one considered that the godawful things that this meant. The freckled boy began to hyperventilate, panic setting in and running all rationality out the window. "This isn't happening! Kei, th-this isn't-Mmph-" Tsukishima smacked his hand over his mouth, pulling him low and keeping one arm wrapped around his front.

Yamaguchi started to tremble, his breathing picking up and getting louder, more noticeable.

**'Tadashi, breath. Listen to me, you have to calm down or they _will_ hear you.'** He told him, and his mouth suddenly felt dry. For once, Yamaguchi's fear was no more overwhelming than his own, but at least he could remain alert and level-headed. Even so, he jumped and Yamaguchi yelped behind his hand when the front door clicked and could be heard creaking open. More prominent than that, were the heavy footsteps that followed.

The home became silent as if everyone were asleep, but the beats of the boots could not be unheard. Their thoughts were maddening to Tsukishima, for there had to be at least ten of them if not more of them. He listened to their shoes crunch in the snow before beating upon the hardwood floor. He heard a whistle.

"Get a load of this place."

"I can smell them all over. Makes me sick."

Their footsteps thudded both away and closer, and Tsukishima tense when he could hear one breathing dangerously close to their couch. Yamaguchi clung to his wrist, holding Tsukishima's hand to his mouth with a trembling grip and warm tears cascading down his cheeks. Tsukishima squeezed him close and clamped his eyes shut, heart pounding out of his chest so loud it was almost all he could hear.

For the first time in a long time, his wings burned with fear, which hadn't happened since...since what Shin did to Yamaguchi. Taking on Yamaguchi's fear with his own had always been troublesome, but now it was torture, for it was becoming too much to bear.

Right as he was sure they were about to be caught, the footsteps retreated away from the couch, and the thoughts of the intruders became a mass of words too loud and too many. This had never happened before, and his head spiraled into such an agony that he could hardly take not covering his ears.

Behind the other couch, Kenma did in fact cover his ears, frozen stiff, pasted to Akaashi's side. Akaashi's breaths were shallow yet quiet, but his shoulders didn't relax when the footsteps moved away. In fact, he tensed more just at the sound. The voices all went silent.

Something metal clattered on floor and they could hear it roll easily across the smooth surface, clacking against a leg of the coffee table and stopping, There was a click, and the loudest, most shrill screech blew through the room from the center out, scrambling their thoughts and shredding their hearing.

It completely incapacitated them, made them crumble. Screams tore from their throats and Kenma sank to the floor, blood beginning to trickle out of his ears in a few seconds.

"AGH! FUCK!" Akaashi barely heard Kageyama scream, but it was the least of his concern when he could feel a large hand grab him by the back of his neck and yank him up over the couch, throwing him full force through the table. Hot pain rippled through his body, and he struggled to breathe or even fight back.

The man who stood over him was not one that he recognized, but by the look in Yamaguchi's eyes when he was pulled out of hiding was enough to prove fear was justified. The giant grabbed Akaashi by the front of his shirt, lifting him up and dragging him struggling across the floor, followed by Kenma, who hardly argued when he was in agony.

On the way out te door into the freezing snow, Akaashi caught sight of the couple being torn apart from each other, and that sparked a whole new level of shouting that made his head feel like it would explode.

"TADASHI! LET ME GO- TADASHI!" Tsukishima called, and reached for him, only to be pulled in the opposite direction. A fist tangled hard into his short hair, and slammed his face into the wall, shooting pain through his nose and flooding his nostrils with blood. After a second tome, he was dizzy and his face buzzed with a hard pain, and his legs felt weak when he was dragged onto them.

The cold air was unbearable to their sensitive ears, but that was nothing compared to their fear. There was no room for struggling, as the noise still had them mostly vulnerable. Even so, they tried to fight, shouting at the tops of their lungs.

They were thrown down into the snow, and Tsukishima and Yamaguchi grabbed onto each other, clinging for dear life as they confronted their demise. Akaashi squeezed Kenma behind him, eyes rolling over the face of the man who looked like he was in charge. He had to be, he figured.

The man's eyes were hard, and his expression flat, body stiff with a commanding aura.

Moments later there was more commotion inside, and out came more of the freakish men, dragging along a fighting Suga and Daichi- but no Tanaka -who were pushed to their knees in the snow.

Yamaguchi hicupped, hiding his face in Tsukishima's shoulder, with the other's arms around him protectively, cold, hateful eyes centered on Katsumata, who glanced at him before rolling on.

"Where are the others?" He asked to one of the suited adults, who murmured something in his ear. He made a displeased face, but nodded.

Suga opened his mouth to spit an insult, when he caught sight of bright red hair in the distance, and he could almost hear his heart stopping as one of the brutal giants was carrying Hinata.

His Hinata, helpless and unconscious. At that moment, Suga's entire world shattered as he didn't see Asahi or Nishinoya with them.

And they had Hinata.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some mention of rape/sexual abuse, and it's referenced and stuff, just a warning. Honestly, it's nothing compared to what happened to Yama in the last book...
> 
> Sorry for the depresso-espresso, my dudes.  
Lol nah, I'm not sorry. >;)  
~Pie
> 
> P.S.- Sorry for errors, I'm editing and I'm tired.

"PUT HIM DOWN!" Suga screamed at the top of his lungs, and lunged forward, only to be grabbed and forced back down. He wasn't the only one to move, followed by Kageyama and Daichi, who were laughed at and further restrained.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" But no one was taking Suga seriously enough to consider him a threat. He couldn't stand it. The sight of Hinata so blissfully unaware of what was happening.

"Calm yourself, W2." Katsumata said in a monotone. Even still, Suga struggled to get to Hinata, who looked like a little prince asleep in the arms of a beast.

Kageyama turned to Akaashi and Kenma, a snarl so enraged on his face that Kenma cowered.. "It was you! You led them right to us, didn't you?!"

"SILENCE!"

The air grew silent when Katsumata raised his voice, and the freezing wind seemed to blow from nowhere, yet was coming at them from all sides.

Katsumata cleared his throat and folded his hands together, notably looking more professional than like a madman- even with the dried blood spatter on him.

"That's enough. Listen closely, I will only explain this once. I bet you believe you really escaped, didn't you? That you had outsmarted me?" He said, and no one responded.  
"How precious of you to truly believe that I would let you go, let alone that easily."

His words were slow and chilling, confusing before everything made sense. But they dare not interrupt, not when Hinata was held hostage.

"I thought I was teaching you better than to believe such a false fact so wholeheartedly. Especially without proof. _All_ of you," Katsumata turned to Akaashi and Kenma, who both looked confused and just as terrified. The man looked to Daichi, who scowled at him, clenching his numb fists.

"Do you know how I've done it? We developed a unique microchip that we had each of you implanted with at birth. Right between the spinal columns of your necks. It started out small, and once it was injected via syringe, it expanded between the columns all while remaining flexible and paper thin, perhaps even thinner. I wanted to have it somewhere completely inaccessible, and what place better than where you'd have to break your neck to get it." Katsumata grew that condescending smirk once more, that one that always said, 'I'm above you, and you will never be ahead.'

"This chip allows for a multitude of things to be done. Monitoring your brain activity, and your vitals, and other things you shouldn't know. But of course, tracking you."

Daichi's head dropped low, eyes wide and teary from the wind whipping against them, he told himself. Katsumata chuckled at their faces, spurring more from his accomplices.  
"Come now, did you believe that we wouldn't take precautions? Not even I am above logic, boys. Accidents happen, and an accident did. But I made sure there was a way to find you. And look where we are? I've found you a second time." The man continued to laugh, and after a moment, all of it died down into an uncomfortable, defeated silence barely accompanied by the taunting whispers of the wind.

"Then..._why_?" A softer voice asked, and eyes turned to Suga, whose face was shiny with drying tears that were constantly streaked over with new ones. "Why...would you hang freedom over our heads just to take us back? Why are you so _cruel_?" He whispered, dropping his hands into the snow and gripping handfuls tightly. Tears of hopelessness burned his eyes.

Katsumata's boots crunched softly in the snow as he walked over to him, and leaned down to tip Suga's chin up, despite Daichi's threatening glare nearly burning holes in his eyes.

"I told you I've got big plans for all of you. I don't do this for fun," His eyes weighed heavily on Suga's heart, but the teen couldn't tear his gaze away.

"No, I have my reasons, reasons that you couldn't possibly comprehend at the moment. Reasons that you currently aren't meant to. For now, all you are to know is that you are the successful of my many, many experiments. So many went wrong, and yet..." His thumb stroked Suga's cheek in an eerily satisfied way, as if appreciating the way his skin came together. "Still developing, you've all turned out so well. To be honest, I wasn't sure about them."

He was referring to the other two, who froze under his gaze.

"C2 was the least promising, and yet I've created something marvelous with it. Just like the rest of you. But even with that being true, trusting them with my true intentions would have been foolish."

Kenma gulped, hands shaking unintentionally as he listened to the complete stranger speak of him.

Akaashi frowned. "What...?"

Katsumata turned to him and his eyes seemed amused. "Well, why don't you explain? I'm sure you've come up with something to gain their trust."

Akaashi opened his mouth to protest, but when his eyes met those of Tsukishima, he closed it, averting his gaze. Katsumata let go of Suga and stood up straight, staring Akaashi down.

"Go on. You were responsible for the accident on the road, were you not?" He asked, but it sounded like he was talking at him rather than asking a simple question.

The boy nodded, and Katsumata's eyes were dark. "Why?"

"Because I- I-I couldn't go through with it, I couldn't lure them out there! After it happened, I regretted it, so we tried to take him ourselves. I wanted to make up for it, but..." Akaashi's shameful gaze lowered, and Katsumata grinned.

"You couldn't even do that."

Akaashi could feel the stares of the murder ripping through him, destroying every bit of will he had to face them and apologize.

No one spoke, and the air grew thickly tense as Katsumata stood there, eyes constantly rolling back and forth over them.  
"And that right there is the perfect example. You're all still too weak, some more than others. And that is what makes you vulnerable. I can't afford for my experiments to be weak. Psychologically or emotionally. That's one of the reasons I'm here now."

When the man's smile returned, three vans were pulling up through the trees, and everyone's stomach's simultaneously dropped.

"Now, here's how this works. A select few of you are coming with me. The rest of you are going to sit here in your cute little cabin all compliant. I trust you'll obey when I tell you that if you do not, I'll drain every last drop of W10's blood. It's no issue, really, it isn't. If anyone is replaceable, W10 is the one." He told them, as more threats exited the vans.

The people standing off to the side started to zero in on the group, and naturally, the teens cowered in fear.

When one grabbed hold of Yamaguchi, it became an uproar, a brutal fight to keep him.

"NO! NO, LET ME GO! KEI!" Yamaguchi cried out, but Tsukishima didn't let go of him, their hands still holding onto each other's wrists despite being pulled apart so hard it felt like their shoulders would dislocate.

Simultaneously, Akaashi was attempting to fight off others who were pulling Kenma away from him, and at the second he only had his fingers in his grip, they had him, knocking Akaashi to the snow. "KOZUME! NO! YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM BACK! I HAVE TO LOOK AFTER HIM, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND-"

"DON'T LET ME GO! PLEASE, DON'T LET ME GO!" Kenma cried back hysterically, screaming, yanking away and struggling, only to get a needle in the side of his neck, hand still outstretched to reach for Akaashi, who copied over the shoulder of one of the beasts holding him back.

When you were outnumbered, there was nothing you could do. There were enough men to hold them all back, and enough to tear their beloved out of their arms.

Suga and Daichi were helpless, clawing and thrashing about to get to Hinata, Kageyama, and Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Hinata was being loaded in the farther van, and Tsukishima's neck was being pierced by a syringe from behind, almost instantly causing him to let go, falling into the arms of the enemy, who began dragging him inside.

"KEI! WAKE UP! NO, NO, NO, NO, KEI!" Yamaguchi screamed, promptly suffering the same fate and being dragged toward a waiting vehicle.

"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" Kageyama growled, and had put up a pretty good fight, successfully breaking a nose or two. But it wasn't enough to keep himself from getting dragged to one of the vans.

"STOP IT, DON'T TAKE THEM! PLEASE, DON'T TAKE THEM FROM ME! KATSUMATA, YOU BASTARD!" Suga pleaded, tears pouring out of his eyes as he watched them take Kageyama too.

Suga's head was spinning with emotion, watching Hinata and Yamaguchi disappear out of sight even though he was trying his damndest to put a stop to the abduction. It was beyond horror, something that couldn't be put into words as he watched his own being taken away from him despite the fact that his hand was reaching. God, his entire body was reaching, and nothing was working. He was fucking helpless.

Daichi turned to Katsumata as he struggled. "YOU SON OF A BITCH, I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS, DO YOU HEAR ME?!" He bellowed, but Katsumata was already taking his leave in the first van with a small smirk playing at his lips.

When the vans were starting to drive off, each one with their own in them, it tore a piece out of Suga's heart.

The last thing any of them would see was the sharp sting of the needle in their necks and the cold snow hitting their faces.

And the vans all driving away.

_*_*_*_

Silent, and yet the air was ringing. The hard surface under Suga was killing his back and the wings inside it. He opened his eyes slowly, vision blurred and tilted. It was dark, too dark to see much, but that wasn't a problem for him, especially when his eyes adjusted to the light of the fireplace. Even so, there was dim light coming in from the window, gray, indicating it was either reaching night or morning. He didn't know. And that struck terror into his heart. His eyes widened at the sight of Daichi's face a few feet away, and he rushed onto his knees, crawling over clumsily on numb limbs.

"D-Daichi! Oh God- Daichi, wake up!" He stopped at his side and started to shake him, eyes welling with tears that pooled over in seconds. There was no response and he pat Daichi's cheek, resulting in a small slap that opened his eyes. Daichi's wide eyes darted from side to side before settling on Suga's face.

The older male jolted upward and he looked around, dazed and unaware of Suga wrapping his arms around his neck and beginning to sob, brutal drawls that took every bit of his breath and forced him to gasp for air. He sounded more broken than Daichi had heard so far, and only when he caught sight of Tsukishima sitting numbly on the couch, did everything click.

"No..." He said softly, and his face slowly scrunched into one of defeat. It started with the twitch of his eyelids, and the gritting of his teeth to follow, his eyebrows furrowing after. He made a noise in the back of his throat, and let out a low sob, still trying to look around with Suga's arms squeezing his neck, some part of him hoping that Hinata would come trotting into the room, lighting it up with that smile of his, shouting that he was perfectly unharmed, that he was HERE.

But he didn't. Instead, Tsukishima sat stiffly on the couch, laid back against the pillows with a gaze so blank that he almost looked like he'd died with his eyes open. He hadn't bothered to take care of the dried blood that had earlier leaked from his nose. It trailed down from each nostril, curling over his lips, and stopping above his chin, where the blood from his left nostril was smeared over his jawline.

"No," Daichi said, shaking his head in disbelief. "No, no, no, no, NO! NO, NO, NO!" He started to sob, and beat his fist on the cold wooden floor. "FUCK! FUCKING- GODDAMMIT!" He shouted, and beat his fist against the floor again as inevitable tears stung his eyes and blurred his vision.

"WHY DOESN'T IT EVER END?!"

Suga held onto him, for they'd finally been brought to their lowest. They'd taken their own. Yamaguchi, Kageyama, and Hinata. At the thought, his throat erupted in shredding screams, not nearly muffled by Daichi's shoulder.

Daichi whimpered and didn't bother to wipe his tears. "WHY?! WHAT! WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS?!" He asked the air, and bit his tongue- only he hardly felt it over the hopeless ache in his chest. "What...what did we do...?" He whispered, and his hand slowly came up to touch Suga's back, before wrapping around him and clinging to him.

He sat here, his pieces scattered all across the floor along with his thoughts. Thoughts of them being abused, locked away, poked and prodded, electrocuted. _Touched_. Things that they didn't deserve.

"Why couldn't I protect them? Why couldn't I _protect_ any of you?" Daichi whispered, shaking under Suga's grasp. The air felt empty even around their cries. Suga sank down against Daichi, falling between his legs and resting his weight against his torso.

"They've got them, Daichi," He whimpered, sniffling heavily, in vain as his nose still ran. "Th-They've got _Hinata!_ _Kageyama, Yamaguchi-_"

Tsukishima flinched at the mention of his name.

"They've got all of them, what are we going to do?"

Daichi shook his head in hopelessness, and for a moment his gaze fell on Tsukishima. It became evident when he traced his gaze that he was looking at something in the corner. _Someone_ who was sitting with his back to it, knees to his chest and his face buried in them. A rage boiled inside Daichi, and he lightly shoved off Suga, feet pounding on the wooden floor as he moved toward him.

Akaashi hardly had a chance to look up before Daichi's hand was wrapping around his throat, lifting him up off his feet with ease and sliding him up the wall. He gasped for air and kicked, reaching up and sinking his nails into the other's hand.

"Daichi, stop it!" Suga called. But Daichi didn't listen, hand starting to squeeze Akaashi's throat.

"_You..._" His said lowly, the hatred radiating off him nearly visible. "THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF _YOU_!" He screamed, and clenched Akaashi's throat tighter. With his lungs deprived of oxygen, Akaashi choked, eyes reflexively widening and body shaking. His tearful gaze was plastered to the ceiling, and he tried to speak, kicking his legs against Daichi in an effort to get himself down.

"That's enough! Don't!" Suga grabbed hold of Daichi's wrist where Akaashi's grip was tight, and he looked his love in the eyes, pleading, begging him to have mercy on someone who was in as bad of a position as themselves. In seconds, Daichi locked eyes with his, his weak spot. He pulled Akaashi away from the wall and threw him to the ground, going for the nearest item- which happened to be a lamp -and throwing it through the window across the room with a yell of so much rage that it rang in the air long after it was over.

Lying on the floor, Akaashi held his throat, tears trailing over the bridge of his nose as he coughed and tried to speak at the same time. Daichi clenched his fists, breathing heavily, hands aching to mercilessly crush Akaashi's throat.

But Suga rushed in front of his, grabbing holding of his forearms and forcing their gazes to meet again. Even so, he was riddled with fear and a slew of other emotions he'd rather part with. "Daichi, listen to me, you can't kill him!" He told him, and Daichi pulled away from him, running his fingers through his hair.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST TELL US?!" He screamed to Akaashi, who flinched. "WE COULD HAVE ALL BEEN LONG GONE, AND THIS SHIT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. THEY WOULD STILL BE HERE!"

"I-I'm- I'm s-"

"Don't you dare!" Daichi told him, and tears were leaving his eyes again. "Don't you dare say it. An apology is not going to bring them back. It's not..." He cried, and his back pressed to the wall, before he sank down to the floor, immediately enveloped by Suga's arms.

Akaashi sobbed in whispers, curling into himself on the floor right after his eyes found those of Tsukishima.

The blonde still hadn't moved, but fresh tears were leaving his eyes at the moment as he watched everything unfold. "You said you didn't want to do it," He said in a hushed tone. "I believe you. I don't forgive you, but I do believe you. Just help us get them back." He pleaded.

Without responding, the elder buried his face in his limbs.

As if on cue, the front door creaked open, letting in the noise of the icy cold rain. They were soaking wet, trembling and shivering, bodies illuminated by the moon that clarified it was indeed night. The smaller of the figures walking first, tracking in water and the cold beyond his control. The taller closed the door, and their footsteps echoed into the room as they neared the group of four.

"G-Guys...?" Nishinoya shivered, pale and stiff in the light of the burning fireplace. Behind him Asahi looked like a ghost looming at its death place. "W-We...we couldn't- they-"  
He stopped when Asahi put a freezing hand on his shoulder, and looked up at him with hurting eyes, ones that forced guilt onto Asahi that the gentle giant could hardly take.

"They know."

_*_*_*_

**[DAY 1]**

Hinata sat perched on the cold metal table, thighs together under the hospital gown and body stiff. He was alone in this examination, wings curled around himself as tears dribbled down his cheeks. The memories were awful.

Before they knew it, they had been surrounded, and watching Asahi and Nishinoya try to fight for him was making his head spin. Because they'd failed. And Hinata was here as a result. But he didn't blame them, not when they'd tried to protect him. Were any of them here, he wondered. He never saw them back in his cage, which he only saw for a split second as the white coats awoke him for examination. They'd taken no blood, but the dot and slight ache in his left arm meant they'd already done so in his sleep.

The room was simple, and in fact looked like a normal doctor's office. Just...much less like friendly doctors had anything to do with it.

The door to the room opened and Hinata froze, eyes going wide as Katsumata walked in with a blank expression. He wore his lab coat again, and he was clean of blood spatter. But somehow, this version of him was so much more frightening.

"Good morning, W10." The man greeted, stopping at the tray protruding from the side of the metal table. He started to slip on a pair of gloves and Hinata was tempted to make a run for it. But even in his fear he knew he wasn't going to get far. "I decided to handle your inspection myself."

Katsumata spared him a glance and proceeded, hands warm and yet still not inviting. Thankfully, he was professional with the first part of the inspection.

"You have Pneumonia, and it has calmed down for now, and we should be able to get rid of it with proper treatment. That isn't our doing, and I'm curious. What did you do on your little trip away from home?" Katsumata asked as if asking his son how his summer long trip with his grandparents went. Katsumata hummed when Hinata didn't answer, currently bending the teen's arm and checking his joints.

Pneumonia? It didn't sound familiar, but it sounded serious considering the pain Hinata still went through in his chest at the very moment.

"Funny, I thought you knew how to speak when spoken to. If I wanted, I could punish you-"

"Swam- I-I went swimming... That's it, now can you please-"

"Be descriptive. I've been thinking of a vacation recently. I want to hear from start to finish." The hand not holding the arm traveled up Hinata's arm and pressed against his shoulder as he bent the arm. He'd moved onto the right one when Hinata finally replied, biting his lips to hold in tears.

"We...we found a gas station, and we stole some food, and we found a city. We don't know which one, but the people there spoke English, I think. They looked at us weird because we were all wearing hoodies. I guess we looked suspicious, maybe..." Hinata side glanced at the man, who was nodding, appearing to actually listen. "We drove for a long time, and it was kinda nice to move from place to place. In our new place we slept on a roof until we found a hotel, and..." Hinata went on to explain the entirety of his time away from the facility.

When he was done, Katsumata was in front of him, checking his cheeks and his eyes, and prying his mouth open to look in with a light as he scolded him for getting excited and running in the snow. It wasn't all bad at first- besides having Katsumata of all people touch him pretty much all over -and Hinata's anxiety had even died down a bit. Until Katsumata was telling him to spread his legs.

"What?"

Katsumata looked at him as if he hadn't said it clearly after doing so very well. He looked like an exasperated teacher. "I have to check you thoroughly. You can make it easier on yourself or you can make it very, very difficult." He positioned his hands on Hinata's knees, and in a panic, the teen kicked him right in the chin, scooting to the side, away from him.

"No, don't touch me!" He protested, hopping down and pressing his back to the wall.

Rubbing his chin, Katsumata stood up, sighing as he turned to him. "Don't make it difficult. Come, now." He stepped closer, and Hinata turned away, trembling in fear when Katsumata's hand gently touched his shoulder and guided him back to the table. Hinata had expected him to call for more doctors to hold him down, but this wasn't that.

The gentleness was frightening, whether Katsumata had ill intent or not. As far as Hinata was concerned, he didn't recall any such fear before. Not of Katsumata.

"It's part of the exam, you know that. Why are you making such a fuss. You've been through this before." Katsumata said, readjusting his gloves as Hinata planted himself on the table again. The boy didn't answer him, keeping his knees clamped together tight even when Katsumata firmly grasped them. The man looked up at him, and Hinata forced his gaze away, lip quivering as the tears came back.

Weakly, he spoke. "Because it's you. I...I don't want you to touch me." He whimpered, the hands on his knees feeling invasive.

"Hm. That's understandable. Do you recall your last test, W10? Right before you left?" Said Katsumata. Hinata felt sick to his stomach at the mere thought of it, but he nodded.

"And you remember Shin, the willing participant?" Another nod. "Would you rather someone like him come in and perform your examination? Because I guarantee that whoever it would have been wouldn't have tolerated what you just did. Kicking me in the face. I'm only going easy on you because you're intelligent. You've been here before, and you don't need to be disciplined for every mistake. I don't consider that mistake stepping out of line."

Hinata's eyes squeezed shut and he sniffled, the pain in his chest worsening. "I-I just want to go home. Please let me go home. S-Suga! I want to go home! Please come get me...!" He cried. Katsumata wiped a tear from his cheek, and he flinched.

"They would have raped you. And I wouldn't have been able to do anything until after the fact. Not everyone in this building is professional. There are predators all the same as the outside world. And working to dispose of them takes time. Because you have to take time to find them. Shin was never supposed to assault W12 the way he did. But it helped us find a predator. Do you understand?"

Hinata hardly did, but he nodded, refusing to look at him. "B-But this is different?" He asked, and Katsumata appeared to grin. "Yes, very. The point is, be glad that I've decided to take on your examination. Between the two of us, you were quite popular before you left."

Those words made Hinata's blood run cold, and he froze, allowing Katsumata to spread his thighs apart and take a close look. Hinata felt like he was going to be sick, but for so many reasons that he felt dizzy. _Popular? What does he mean by that?_

The last part of the exam, which had to do with his wings, was finally over a short time later, and Hinata flinched as Katsumata pulled the draw strings in the back of the new long sleeve shirt he'd been given that was plain white. The slits closed snugly around the stem of his left wing, and the right one followed, effectively preventing him from hiding them once he heard a clip that kept the strings from coming undone.

He sniffled as Katsumata ushered him off the table. "You did well, W10. Keep this up and this won't be as awful as you believe." The man said, hands on his shoulders steering him out the door and down the hallway. But his voice was muffled in Hinata's ears, not quite coming through when all the ginger could think about was what he said.

_Popular. I was popular. With the Beasts? The doctors? Who? What does he mean "popular?" Does he mean-_

"Here we are." Before he knew it, they were standing at a door Hinata had never seen before. It was white, bolted into the wall on every side with hinges the size of a large battery. There was a small rectangular window toward the top, and a similar one near the bottom that appeared to slide open.

"It isn't the Nest, but I think you'll like it much better." He could hear a grin in the man's voice, and it didn't feel right. But when the door beeped and the man opened it, Hinata practically tore away from him, running straight into Kageyama's waiting arms.

When Kageyama's wings curled around him and hid him from the others in the room, Hinata finally broke.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter's kinda mellow, but the next ones are going to be better. I intend to finish this book, but I just haven't felt like writing much. Still, I don't want to go on a hiatus.  
I only get WI-FI at school, since my parents haven't paid it for months. It's part of the reason the chapters are so spaced out. I'm not always lazy, lol. But I've gotten back into planning my chapters and stuff, so the next chapters are going to be way better than this one, in my opinion.  
Sorry if this sucks, I truly want to write good stuff for you guys, but I'll eventually go through and edit this entire series. I've been feeling kinda shitty, but I hope to be back on my feet soon so everything feels much more alive!  
~Pie

**[NIGHT 1, THE NEST]**

It had only been one day, but Katsumata had been right about one thing; this was nothing like the Nest. It was the Nest, but it didn't hold that sickening comfort of captivity. There was an enormous window taking up the entire wall that faced the outside of the door, and now there were three beds just for them on the wall opposite of the glass, all with sheets of white, on the same wall they use to sleep beside. There was still enough space to move around, surprising with the stocked book shelf in the corner beside the door and opposite to the bed on the far right(being on the right if you were looking through the glass), and the desk in the same corner on the other side of the room, opposite the far left bed. The door was beside the book shelf. The desk was stocked with art supplies, but that didn't make it anymore comfortable.

Even now, they were being watched, and Hinata much preferred being completely isolated especially after his examination earlier. At the moment he was curled up at the bottom of the middle bed, head rested just a few inches from the bottom bars, his pillow clutched in his arms. He faced the far right bed, which Yamaguchi had taken and was currently sitting on, fiddling around with some of the papers from the desk.

Hinata flinched as he felt a hand touch his wings, and he half turned to see that Kageyama had come up behind him. The ache had started two days ago, since they had been brought back to the Facility, along with increased heart pains and coughing. Ever since his examination really, but Kageyama didn't need to know that.

"What'd they do," Kageyama asked, and Hinata turned forward again, still clutching his pillow in his arms. "You aren't even moving them." It was true, they hung limply over the bars of the bed.

Hinata felt the mattress dip, and knew Kageyama was sitting behind him. Without Hinata's consent, he gently pinched his left wing and the ginger flinched, hissing slightly, but not moving away. The pain was sharp but it wasn't quite unbearable just yet. Kageyama was quiet then, awaiting a reply.

Hesitant, Hinata pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on the pillow. "Katsumata-san says it's the Pneumonia. The body aches are affecting that part of my body too. He mentioned increased stress. Heh...no shit, huh?" He whispered. He heard Kageyama sigh, and felt his hands attempt to gently massage the feathered masses. It wasn't the best, but it was better than no contact.

The motions were slow, and the way his fingers curled reminded the red head of Suga's wing massages, raising the memory of Kageyama's nightmares, and the numerous nights where Suga would be awake, running his fingers through his feathers and easing their reactive attempts to carry the sleeping Kageyama away. Hinata didn't want the massage anymore.

"Why aren't they treating you yet?"

"Dunno. They're looking into something else. They won't say what. But I'm scared."

Hinata's eyes wandered to Yamaguchi, whose eyes were focused on two of the papers, lifting them with ease and a neutral expression on his face. That expression didn't change much, and Hinata forced his gaze away at the thought. But then Yamaguchi spoke, and Hinata noticed that the papers were starting to fold completely in sync. After Yamguchi could trash an entire hotel room in his sleep, it didn't surprise Hinata much that folding paper with his mind was extremely easy.

"Do you think they're coming for us? I want to think so... That they'll come."

A heavy silence drifted through the warm air of the Nest- Hinata was going to call it that, even if their scents had been cleaned from the room. Of course they'd all been thinking about it non-stop. How couldn't they? Hinata didn't even remember being brought. There was an empty hope weighing down his chest. He hadn't even been there, he thought, but he had, hadn't he?

He'd been unconscious, so how could he know the expression on Suga's face as he was taken away? How could he know the shredding of their desperate screams, and the injuries they sustained while fighting? The cruel reality made the weakest part of his heart find it unbelievable that they would come for them, even with Kageyama and Yamaguchi telling him the way things had gone.

"Why wouldn't they?" Kageyama asked simply, but Hinata was good at hearing irritation in his words by this point. Yamaguchi had never taken his gaze off the papers, a gray despair looming over his gentle gaze. The papers were folding into squares, unfolding and folding again, almost as if it were robotic to them- or to Yamaguchi.

He whispered, "You were there. Katsumata told them to stay behind-"

"Would you stay behind?!" Kageyama snapped, and Yamaguchi flinched, eyes widening as the shout shook him, and letting all of the papers scatter to the mattress, the untouched ones drifted off the bed and to the padded floor. He stammered, and Kageyama cut him off again.

"If Tsukishima were here- If he were the one in here and not you, would you stay behind instead of coming to save him?!" Kaageyama clenched Hinata's wing and Hinata jumped. "Ah- K-Kageyama...!" He cried, and Kageyama let go in a panic, looking to touch again and help. But when Hinata pushed his face into his pillow, he pulled his hands back.

Pain spread through Hinata's wing, and he bit the side of his cheek, holding his breath when Kageyama's touch left him altogether. "Sorry." Was all he said before he could hear his feet padding back to his own bed.

While it wasn't the best apology, Yamaguchi nodded, and Hinata lay stiffly, silent in his thoughts of guilt.

"They will," He whispered without thinking, and his body gradually relaxed. "They have to. They would never leave us here. Back at the hotel, Daichi told me that if he... If he ever did the wrong thing and got us hurt, he couldn't live with himself. Isn't that proof enough that they won't leave us here?"

"They'll come," Kageyama assured. He turned his head just a bit to share a secret gaze with Yamaguchi, who looked away a second later, wringing his hands now. Hinata observed the freckled boy's reaction and frowned. "What? What's wrong?" He turned over to look at Kageyama, the looks on their faces distracting him from feeling guilty. "Tell me," He said, and when they hesitated, he clenched his fists and sat up.

"Don't do that! Don't hide it from me, tell me what it is! You don't get to just leave me out of it!" He shouted, and a sharp pain shot through his chest, making him wince and Kageyama once again come to his aid, sitting by him to make sure he didn't fall from the bed, opening his arms in surprise when the ginger weakly fell into them. Hinata held his chest and glanced over to Yamaguchi with the side of his head resting against Kageyama's shoulder. "Tell me."

Yamaguchi averted his gaze. "Katsumata said that if they came after us, he...he'll take all of your blood. Just- take it." He said. Hinata had gone stiff, and his eyes found the floor slowly as the realization hit him. His blood. Akaashi had mentioned that exact same thing. Katsumata wouldn't threaten such a thing unless it was truly his intent, and by this point, Hinata knew better than to believe otherwise.

Without a word, he let himself be held, tears welling in his eyes, like they always seemed to do nowadays. "You guys...what are they going to do to me? I don't...I don't wanna die." The petite boy started to cry, hands starting to shake as they clutched his aching chest. "I don't wanna die...!" He cried.

Kageyama squeezed Hinata closer, an ache growing in his own heart, both a familiar rage against the people who caused this, and the agony of listening to the raw fear in Hinata's broken whimpers. "It won't." He told him, breathing slowly to attempt to keep his emotions at bay. "It's not gonna happen, you aren't gonna die. They won't kill you, dammit, I won't let them." He said, and the secure grip he now had on Hinata was helpful.

"I don't believe it." Said Yamaguchi, and both of them looked up. There was a dark loss of hope in his eyes, something shattering. Kageyama's eyebrows furrow into a glare.

"What'd you say?"

Yamaguchi shook his head. "That they'll kill him. Katsumata said he was replaceable, but I don't think so. Hinata can do more things than the rest of us can, and you know it." He said. Kageyama's eyes softened as Hinata sniffled, and he loosened his grip to give the ginger room to breathe.

"You know something Tsukki told me? Here, when everyone was asleep?" Yamaguchi asked, and Hinata looked up, rubbing his eyes and letting his weight rest against Kageyama's chest. The ginger nodded, and Yamaguchi crumpled the sheets in his fist.

"Like how Katsumata keeps telling us how great we are, Tsukki heard that they've done something bigger with you, Hinata. They don't know what, but that's probably why they brought you back, and why Katsumata's so interested in your blood. You're important. N-Not to freak you out, but...I think this is deeper. Keeps going on about how great we are, do you think he'd really dispose of you completely like that? He'd be hurting whatever they're doing. At least that's what I think..." Yamaguchi murmured the last part and sunk into a slouch, curling his wings around his front.

"That...actually sounds right. That sounds logical, right? Or am I just...desperate?" Hinata whispered, and he could feel Kageyama shaking his head. The dark-haired boy spared a glance and a half-attempt at a nod to Yamaguchi.

"I think it makes sense."

The conversation ended there, with Hinata curling up in his bed, as they hadn't yet been run into the dirt with tests. He wondered if it meant that they were supposed to rest in the day now, but it wasn't like they'd done much resting since they arrived. 

Even now as it became night, the boys were sure it was only a matter of time until they were taken for whatever those sick freaks had planned for them. They worries became reality when that damned beep sounded off. For the first time since their examinations, those doors were opening, and four doctors were entering with clipboards as usual, and their eyes mostly centered on Hinata, who cowered underneath the sheets.

"You," they said, and one gestured for him to get up. Slowly, he did as he was told, side glancing at Yamaguchi, who was also beckoned to rise from his postition drawing in a notebook. He stuffed the book under his pillow and climbed over the bars, planting his socked feet on the ground and eyeing Kageyama, who hadn't been called.

"Where...are we going?" He asked. He didn't get an answer, and Kageyama stood up.

"He asked a question, where the hell are you taking them?" He asked, and stepped in front of them, guarding them from the adults, who mostly towered over him. But Kageyama wasn't intimidated, not anymore. He could never cower when Hinata and Kageyama needed him. Right now, he was all they had, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to at least try to keep them safe.

The doctors seemed irritated, and they looked tired, to be honest. That meant that they didn't have patience- not that they had as much any other time of day. The doctor clapped, and a guard that they had never seen stepped into the room with a pole in his hands, and on the end of it were the prongs of a taser. The prongs sparked and Kageyama stepped back when it was pointed at him, continuing to do so with his eyes focused on nothing but the weapon.

"Wait- Where are you taking them?!" He called, watching the white coats escort Yamaguchi and Hinata out, leaving him alone with the guard, who didn't say anything to him, but waiting until they doctors were gone to jam the prongs into his chest, giving him a shock that man him jump back and lose his balance completely, falling on his ass.

"You know your place, you hear me?" The guard hissed at him, and jabbed the taser rod at him, making the boy flinch and raise an arm to shield himself. The man scoffed.

"Look at you. You're nothing but a little boy, you're weak! You ever step up against us again, and I'll personally make sure you never do it again." He scowled, and turned his back on the boy to leave the room.

It was then that Kageyama silently vowed to show them that he wasn't weak. He refused to be stepped on any longer, but he could never protect Hinata and Yamaguchi if he got himself in trouble. So he closed his mouth and listened before the guard left. Once the door closed, he could see the man peek through the glass, and Kageyama looked him dead in the eyes, a glare of his own drilling into the man's skull.

Now that Kageyama was alone, he was paranoid, maybe even scared. Where were they taken? What if they were taking Hinata's blood and he wasn't going to come back? The thought made him stiff, and still sitting on the floor, he would dwell on it. He didn't know when his back began to ache, or when he got a pounding headache, but after plopping himself on his stomach, grunting when the mattress was too warm, he tried to rest his mind.

But Kageyama had never been good at that. Little by little, the pain was worsening, and while annoying, the back pain was familiar. It was all too familiar, as he thought of those abnormal muscles forming under his skin. Sometimes they moved, sometimes they pushed against his skin and he was thankful that having his wings out all the time covered his back entirely. He never said anything because they were in the middle of trying to stay alive. Plus, how would they get help for something like this?

_He's got a second pair of wings growing under his skin._

Kageyama drifted in and out of sleep for a good hour or so, and then the beep sounded again, causing him to raise his head and watch as the door opened to reveal a weak-looking Hinata being guided into the room. Kageyama was on his feet instantly, and received Hinata, glaring at the guard before the door was closed.

Hinata was swaying a bit, and groaned softly as he leaned against Kageyama.

"Hey, stand up. Look at me." Kageyama said clearly, and Hinata slowly raised his head, though his gaze looked numb. It looked wrong. Instead of pressuring him, Kageyama slid his arms under Hinata's legs and lifted him bridal style, carrying him over to the bed. Hinata had definitely lost weight, but he tried not to think about it.

"My God, what did they do to you? Those fucking bastards..." Kageyama laid him down gently, making sure the pillows supported his head well.

Hinata swallowed and opened his mouth to speak, before closing it again. Kageyama raised an eyebrow, sitting beside him, and the ginger did speak then.

"They started to take my blood. They- They took so much, Kageyama, I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to-" Hinata stopped then and looked at the hand on top of his, before he turned his head away.

Kageyama removed his hand, averting his own gaze, listening to Hinata speak again.

"Earlier, I...I didn't mean to flinch. I wasn't scared of you, but I..." He swallowed again and looked back to Kageyama with tearful eyes, reaching out for him. "The massage, i-it was like Suga's. And- And I wanna go home! Kageyama, I wanna go home, I don't want this!" The ginger started to cry, and instinctively, Kageyama took his hand, pulling it to his chest before he knew he'd done so. He longed to wrap Hinata in a hug, but with the boy as weak as he was, he didn't want to overwhelm him, or frighten him. That might have been the last thing to break Kageyama; Hinata not wanting him near, or just not being able to protect him when he was probably the only one who could.

"We're going to get out of here, Hinata." He told him. "The others, they're going to get here and after that, we'll go as far away as possible. We'll go to the fucking sun if we have to, but we'll get away from here." Kageyama tried to reassure him, but Hinata was panicked, squeezing his hand. "Hinata, look at me."

It took a moment, but Hinata did, and his broken gaze only boosted Kageyama's will to get them the hell out of here. "I promise. You hear me?" He said, and a pained grin stretched his lips

Hinata smiled, and sniffled, nodding. "Yeah- Yeah, I believe you. I believe you." And that did make Kageyama smile; a proper smile.

"Woah, you're actually smiling. You did it, Kageyama-kun." Hinata chuckled, and started to cough, wincing as pangs of agony pounded through his chest. When the coughing calmed down, his grip on Kageyama's hand loosened, and his gaze started to roam the ceiling absently.

Kageyama hated this. He hated them, he hated this place, he hated everyone who watched this happen and did absolutely nothing to stop it. It infuriated him, it made him sick all the way through. There were too many things that he wanted to do to Katsumata for this. He could go stabbitty-stab-stab on his eyes like Tsukishima did to that lizard guy, or yeet a food tray into his goddamn skull. Or he could bite his throat out with his own teeth-

"K-Kageyama-kun...? Do you think we'll ever see our...families again...?" Hinata soft voice asked, pulling him from his grotesque thoughts. "Ever?"

Kageyama wished he could tell him 'As soon as we get outta here, I'll take you home.' His silence made Hinata chuckle. "I know. I know already. I just want to hear something different."

"Even if it's a lie? Even if I don't mean it, do you want me to tell you that we'll get home?" Kageyama asked, and more tears trickled out of Hinata's eyes. He sniffled, and knowing it would tear him apart, he nodded.

"Then..." Kageyama squeezed his hand and looked him in the eyes. "When the others get here, we're going to go home. We'll fly there, and it's not gonna matter who sees us, because they'll mind their own business. We'll go to your house, and you'll knock on that door."

Hinata's eyes were closing, and even though he still cried, it was clear that he was falling asleep.

"Your family's gonna answer it. They're going to smile, and they're going to be so happy to see you that they'll cry. And nothing's ever gonna hurt again."

"Will...all of you be there...?" Hinata's voice was faint now.

"We'll be there."

Just then the beep sounded again and Hinata's eyes shot open, darting to the door. Luckily, it was just Yamaguchi being returned. He wobbled to his mattress, and without a single word, he collapsed on it.

The two shared a somber look, and they were quiet in the continuing of their conversation.

Hinata fell asleep soon after, still clutching Kageyama's hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to think Kageyama would be a little softer after all the things they've been through, at least when it comes to the group- and mostly Hinata *cough*.  
I know this one was short, but bear with me here. At least Kageyama and Hinata are cute af!  
Thank you guys for your support, I know I don't really respond to comments, but I mostly don't because it's nice to be able to go and read them to boost my drive and confidence without having to surf through my own responses.  
Just know that I read every single one!  
~Pie


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was asked to make a list of Karasuno's known abilities, and I realize that it can get confusing....which is my bad.  
Here you go! I hope this helps!
> 
> Suga-Empathy
> 
> Daichi-Destruction using his mind
> 
> Asahi-Creation of illusions(can occasionally create real things that don't last more than a few minutes before they disintegrate)
> 
> Tanaka-Turn his body/body parts into steel
> 
> Nishinoya-Increased Speed, and Electricity of course ;)
> 
> Tsukishima-Telepathy/Projecting his voice into the mind's of others/Echoing the thoughts of multiple people into the minds of others/slight hypnosis/Memory Erasure
> 
> Yamaguchi-Telekinesis(intensely powerful when in distress)
> 
> Kageyama-Mind control/Influence;Mild at the moment
> 
> Hinata- Oh boy, okay this boy's got: Teleportation(it goes deeper in the next chapter), body heating( where he can heat his body so hot that he begins to glow and eventually catch fire), self-healing(can heal others with his saliva and/or blood), and eventual elevated voice projection(throwing his voice from here to there and getting loud enough to make ears bleed- like when he shattered the glass and was heard throughout the Facility in book one). Let's not forget he can still hella jump.
> 
> Akaashi- Psychic by touch- knows one's feelings, health and well-being, and current actions by touching some part of them-Very powerful
> 
> That's currently all until the rest of Nekoma are introduced! Sorry if it was complicated, I tend to forget I can go overboard with details that aren't simple to remember when there are many of them...
> 
> Undergoing small editing, please excuse the errors!

[DAY 2, THE NEST]

It was quiet all night long. Their resting through the remainder of the night went undisturbed, and it was much appreciated after the day the trio had. It was late morning when Hinata opened his eyes, facing Kageyama, who was still sleeping- snoring as a matter of fact. Hinata's body still ached, but a low groan stole his attention.

He slowly pushed himself up, and looked over to Yamaguchi, who was writhing in place. "Yamaguchi?" The freckled boy didn't reply, and whimpered, breathing raggedly. The bars on his bed rattled, but nothing too severe though it was a sign that he was in distress. Otherwise could be said about his condition.

He was covered in sweat, and he was pale, his hair sticking to his forehead and his clothes disheveled as he squirmed in what appeared to be pain. Hinata slipped out of his bed and took small, wary steps toward Yamaguchi, reaching out a hand to touch his forhead. "Yamaguchi, are you okay?" He asked, and pulled his hand away on contact, frowning at the temperature. The bed was still shaking and Hinata didn't like it, reaching both hands in to shake Yamaguchi until his eyes opened.

The bed ceased its shaking and Yamaguchi's eyes did open, blinking up at the petite male. He started to slowly sit up, barely reaching a sitting position before he leaned over the side of the bed and gagged, blood pouring out of his mouth and onto the floor.

"YAMAGUCHI!" Hinata cried, and Kageyama jumped awake, glancing around in alarm before his eyes settled on the panicking Hinata.

"Shit!" Kageyama cursed, hopping out of bed and running around Hinata's bed to reach them. He had never seen so much blood, he was sure of it. Well, he had when he watched that one movie where it came out of an elevator, but this was real life. Real life, where Yamaguchi was vomiting up so much blood that when it all hit the floor, it splashed.

Kageyama held Yamaguchi steady while Hinata moved toward the window and started to bang his fists on it in hopes that it would get someone's attention. Anyone's attention would do at this point.

_'What's happening?'_

_'What's wrong with him?'_

These thoughts and more raced through the boy's mind, his eyes brimming with tears of fear and confusion. "Hey!" He smashed his fist against the window, and his shoulders tensed at the sight of two doctors coming down the hall. He smacked the glass repeatedly, and waved until they noticed him. As they started to make their way over with minor intrigue in their eyes, Yamaguchi finally went stiff, dropping against Kageyama like dead weight, shaking Kageyama to the core. Once in front of the window the doctors saw Yamaguchi and burst into action to help, one rushing to use his keycard and the other running down the hall.

"You're gonna be fine," Kageyama whispered to Yamaguchi, reaching down to use the blanket to wipe the blood leaking down his chin. Yamaguchi's eyes were glazed over with something like numbness, a daze, and he was silent. Kageyama wasn't even sure if he'd been heard. The freckled boy looked the same as when he wasn't here.

"Y-Yamaguchi?" Kageyama called him, outstretching his arms over his lap when Yamaguchi collapsed in his arms, coughing up specks of blood, like spray that stained Kageyama's white shirt.

When the doctors finally came in, they took him, their concerned chatter filling the air before they plucked Yamaguchi from Kageyama's arms.

"What's wrong with him? What's wrong?!" Hinata cried, and Kageyama held him back from lunging at the doctors, who laid Yamaguchi on a stretcher and briefly started to examine him.

Kageyama was too frantic to count the doctors, but every few seconds there seemed to be more and more of them. He tugged Hinata against his chest, wrapping his arms around his lower back and the back of his neck, wrapping his wings around him to prevent him from running after them as they wheeled their friend away.

"K-Kageyama, what's wrong with him?" Hinata asked, tears streaming down his cheeks. Kageyama didn't reply, watching them until they were past the window and out of sight. Yamaguchi had been so pale, so cool to the touch, and his skin looked paper thin. There was something horribly wrong with him indeed, and as badly as he wanted to know what, he couldn't bring himself to speak to the doctors, let alone follow after them.

"_Kageyama_, what's wrong with him?!" Hinata yanked on the front of Kageyama's shirt and tried to fight his endless tears of fear as he gazed up in frustration at him. But Kageyama's wings hugged him as his arms did, and Hinata got no response.

The ginger slammed his fist against his chest, and his lip quivered, before he dropped his forehead against his chest, gripping his shirt and letting his wings droop. He was scared, like a child. Like the child that he still was, and he wanted to be strong. He wanted to look forward to seeing his family again, and seeing those that he now considered family.

But everything was dark. With his hopelessness looming over him like a cloud and Yamaguchi's sudden health issues, Hinata didn't know if he could keep his hope alive anymore.

Was Yamaguchi going to make it?

What if he was about to die, and neither of them knew it?

Over his silent cries, Hinata could hear those familiar footsteps approaching, and hear them stopping. He slowly raised his head to look up through blurry tears, and of course, there was Katsumata, standing in the doorway with his hands neatly behind his back.

"Those weren't the effects I was promised." He stated. Hinata buried his face in Kageyama's chest, clinging to him as if just the contact could protect him from the monster that lurked in the Nest entrance.

Not even Kageyama looked at him, eyes frozen to the last spot through the window where Yamaguchi had been.

Katsumata sighed and took a few steps into the room, and Kageyama looked then, backing them away out of habit. "What...effects?" He asked lowly.

The man looked their fearful forms over, and then to the blood on the floor. "The effects of the injection. A small experiment with a large price to pay, it seems. W10, look at the blood on the floor."

Hinata trembled, and slowly did as he was told, eyeing the crimson puddle and spatter on the floor.

"W12 needs that blood back..._if_ it survives the experiment. In that case, you know exactly what I'm saying. You're intelligent enough to understand." The man said, and his eyes were stoic, preventing the boy from deciphering any sort of confirmation if the words were a compliment. Compliment or not, he understood too well.

"Then...just use what you took from me. Just help him, please! Don't you have any left over?" He replied, and his grip on Kageyama tightened. Katsumata grinned, and his face was stiff like it was made of stone.

"That isn't how this works. Your body heals itself, and rather quickly. Meaning that your blood replenishes in relatively short time. We'll need more."  
And now Hinata was curling himself tighter against Kageyama at what the man was suggesting.

"You...you need _more_? No! No, you can't do that!" He gasped.

Katsumata shook his head. "Come. I'd like to show you something. And then we'll see if you still feel that way." He stepped out of the room and gestured for both of them to follow. "Now."

Hinata and Kageyama shared a glance, and Kageyama's eyebrows strained because he just didn't have the energy to argue, and no good would come of it. Hinata gulped and stayed up under his wing as the followed the man out of the room. They walked in silence, but Hinata started to recognize the path they were taking.

His prediction was confirmed when they reached the hospital ward doors, Hinata started to feel uneasy, especially when Katsumata pushed them open to reveal numerous beds lining both walls all the way down to the end where there was a door beside each wall.

Every single bed was occupied, and Hinata could hardly think. Children, all of them. Toddlers, little kids, middle school-aged, and high school-aged, all lying mostly limp on the beds, strapped down. Katsumata continued to walk, and Hinata felt nauseous just looking at all of them, and jumped when a voice screamed, and a guy near the other side of the room started thrashing about.

"NO! NO, I DON'T WANT IT! I DON'T WANNA SLEEP! PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME SLEEP!"

Hinata knew that voice. It took a few seconds, but he figured out that much. He'd stopped walking, staring on in awe as the tall boy sobbed and tried to fight the doctors holding him down.

"K-Kenma!" Hinata gasped more to himself than the boy on the other side of the room. The dark-haired boy's head turned, and the ruffled black tail protruding from his lower back straightened up.

"SHOUYO!" Kenma cried, and made an attempt to reach for him. From this distance Hinata could see that his eyes were a milky white color, moving around to seemingly try to see Hinata. The doctor's grabbed his wrists and he cried out as they pinned him down, the furry black ears sticking out of his head flat against his head in fear.

"Wh-What are they doing to him?" Hinata asked, watching them insert a syringe into his friend's neck.

"K-KEIJI- KEIJI-S- Ke...Keiji-sa...n..." Kenma gasped out, slowly going limp and leaving the room mostly in silence.

Hinata could hardly look at him, watching his eyes close. Katsumata opened his mouth to answer his question, when a low, raspy yet soft voice whispered out.

"Keiji...? Is Keiji here? Keiji-kun?"

On the right side of the room, a few beds into the row, there was a bed with a tag hanging from one of the bars, labeled O6. For a moment Hinata didn't recognize him lying in the bed like that, but before being given permission, he started to walk toward him, Kageyama quickly trailing behind.

Bokuto laid in the bed weakly, skin white and veins visible through his transparent color. His eyes were milky and white, and they stared numbly up at the ceiling. His hands that rested at his sides were bandaged, and his large gray wings, similar to Akaashi's, hung without movement over the bars on the sides of the bed, so large they touched the floor.  
Buckles bolted into the bars allowed him to be strapped down by belts across his chest, hips, and legs. He didn't even struggle.

"Is he...?" He whispered, and his milky, unseeing eyes searched the room although it was futile. He turned his head to face Hinata as he got closer, and Hinata stopped when their gazes met.

Hinata gulped and fiddled with his hands, averting his gaze. "No." Was all he could say, and Bokuto's neutral expression remained the same. He seemed to go out of it then, seemed to completely zone out.

Katsumata watched them from behind, and Kageyama turned around to face him with a pained scowl on his face. "What's this for? What's wrong with all of them?" He asked.

Head held high, Katsumata approached Bokuto's bed, before resting a hand on his forehead with lifeless eyes. "These are the side effects of the accident. The experiment gone wrong." Bokuto flinched at his touch and struggled against the belts for a second, before his body fell against the mattress once again.

"We first noticed the effects after a few hours. Dizziness, and then paralysis, loss of vision, and hearing, and speech. They're slowly becoming little puddles of nothing. I suppose that's what happens when you tamper with the brain... When a mistake is made. About every subject in here was affected. We've concluded that the brain is trying to kill itself, or something along those lines." He explained, and briefly pulled Bokuto's left eyelid up, making the blind teen flinch.

"Does it hurt? Is it hurting them?" He asked, and this time Bokuto didn't looked when he made noise.

"Not that we're aware of. Sensations disappear along with the paralysis, it seems. This one here has been trying to fight it, if you can believe that. One moment it's coherent and then it isn't. The others aren't so lucky. Most of them stay gone one that last bit of them leaves. But O6 is a strong one. Like you were." Katsumata looked to Hinata then, and his eyes were soft as he alluded to Hinata's injuries from the first intense experiment. He rested a hand on his shoulder, and Kageyama went to interfere, but stopped. Hinata wasn't fighting, only staring down at the lost Bokuto.  
Seeing him like that, no longer excitable or lively, reminded the winged boy of Yamaguchi. Could he still think? Or was it just darkness?

Now that Kageyama thought about it, no one ever made a point of asking Yamaguchi what it was like. With good reason, but it baffled Kageyama how trauma could take an entire person's soul away.

"W10," Katsumata started softly, and Kageyama snapped out of it. The man had both hand's on Hinata's shoulders now, and the ginger was looking up at him with tears in his eyes. He was so vulnerable, open for Katsumata to take him by the throat if he so pleased. Kageyama clenched his fists without thinking, his expression a snarl at the sight of that man touching Hinata.

He didn't like it. He hated it. If anyone had no right to touch Hinata, it was Katsumata. And yet, Hinata stood there as if he were looking at a light of hope.

"Do you want to help them? Your friends and all the rest? In order to do so, you know what we would need from you. Your blood holds the key to healing them, and the tests were just for us to start figuring it out. Oh, it can do more than we've ever imagined. _You_ can do more than we've ever imagined. All we need is a little more of it, and we can cure them. You're their only hope." The man rambled, squeezing the teenager's shoulders.

Hinata's tears were drying on his cheeks, and he glanced over to Bokuto's still form, and thought to Yamaguchi coughing up all that blood. Then he looked over to Kenma, who lie motionless strapped to a bed.

"Without you, they may die."

Hinata's gaze snapped back up at Katsumata, whose eyes had never seemed so sincere before.

Kageyama was shaking his head watching the scene in silence. What was happening to Hinata? Why was he so...willing to agree?

"Okay. I..." Hinata took another look around. "I wanna help them."

Katsumata smiled then. A smile of pride, of happiness or something. "Excellent. I knew you would be the one to see."

Kageyama stepped forward and grabbed Hinata's arm, eyebrows furrowed incredulously. "Hinata-"

"It's too late. Now, off to the recreational room while your Nest is disinfected." Katsumata told him, and let go of Hinata to stand up straight. He ushered them away from the bed and back toward the doors, and maybe Katsumata didn't think Kageyama saw him subtly wipe his hands on his lab coat.

But Kageyama did see it.

_*_*_*_

[THE CABIN]

The snow on the ground was less than a foot high, not hard to walk a short distance in. Asahi looked down at the list that Daichi had just handed him, and as they stood outside of the place that had been their home for over a month, Suga and Daichi were preparing to send Asahi and Tsukishima out for supplies.

"Tanaka- You shouldn't be up, you have a concussion-"

"I told you I'm fine. They fucked me up some, but I'm not dead, Suga."

Asahi glanced up to see Suga following Tanaka out of the house. It wasn't exactly relieving to see him up and about, but at least he was alive. Tanaka had actually come in not longer after himself and Nishinoya, hardly coherent after he had been thrown from the window and hit his head on a rock below. It was "super uncool" according to Tanaka, and Daichi had scolded him for such a pointless observation, telling him he was lucky to be alive since the rock luckily hadn't cracked his skull.

Said male constantly swiped at Suga's hands trying to adjust the bandage on his head, still walking out the door with his duffel bag on his shoulder. "Suga- God, I'm fine!"

"At least let me check it!"

Asahi watched them quietly go back and forth, before Daichi was shaking his head and handing him the money. Asahi's eyes widened and he looked up from the list to take the cash.

"Where did you get this? I thought we didn't have anything." He asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Daichi rubbed the back of his neck, and Asahi was once against reminded of the toll that the abduction had taken on him.

"Well...Nishinoya's turned into a really good pick-pocket. I don't approve, but he just handed be this after we agreed on following through with this." Daichi replied.

Asahi once again looked down at the money in his hand and was surprised to find that it damn sure looked like enough. It looked like a lot, certainly plentiful for what they were going to buy.

Shielded from the cold in his coat, Tsukishima, whose right lens was cracked in the bottom right corner, watched them calmly from his nearby spot leaning on a tree. Initially, he wasn't supposed to go with, but when everyone except himself had something to eventually get done, he refused to be useless.

Having already packed up his and Yamaguchi's clothes in their bedroom, he waited patiently now for them to be on their way. Unbeknownst to anyone else, he currently had a pounding headache. One that made him dizzy and had his shaking. Their mind chatter wasn't helping, but it kept cutting out, he noticed.

It wasn't the first time he was getting gaps in their thoughts, or even not hearing certain ones at all. It was like how an excited Hinata could jump from topic to topic without finishing the first one. But this had happened before, back when Akaashi and Kenma showed up. For a moment, Tsukishima couldn't hear Akaashi's thoughts. Tsukishima didn't want to think much of the phenomenon, but he would still keep an eye on it regardless.

But at the moment, he wasn't feeling well at all. He felt sluggish, he felt weak and fatigued, like he couldn't move even if he wanted to. He didn't understand it when he felt perfectly fine earlier this morning. It came suddenly, and brought with it a familiar sense of dread. It wasn't new information for Yamaguchi and himself to be so profoundly connected as they were. It was strange, they were like E.T. and Elliot, he thought. He wanted an explanation, but he figured he already knew somewhere in his mind.

"Tsukishima, you ready? Let's head out." Tsukishima snapped out of it and saw Tanaka and Asahi walking past him. He nodded, and followed, glancing back to give a concerned Suga a nod.

Suga, who was nervously chewing the inside of his bottom lip, held himself as he watched them go from the warmth of the front door. Soon they had disappeared among the trees. Daichi was grabbing the car keys and heading to the door, where he pressed a hand to Suga's shoulder.

"They're going to be okay. It's not far, and it's a small place. I'm going to fill up the tank, I'll be back soon." Daichi leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek, but Suga turned and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck. Daichi instantly hugged him back, and kissed his cheek then. "We're almost there." He told him. Daichi didn't like to really lie, but if it was to make someone else feel better, than he would do what was necessary. And he did not believe they were okay.

That was just the truth. And as much as Daichi would have rather told him that they may or may not succeed in getting their boys back because they knew absolutely nothing about breaking into the place they'd broken out of, Daichi wouldn't have been able to handle being so cruel to the grieving love of his life.

Suga simply nodded, even though he didn't believe him.

[THE CONVENIENCE STORE]

The walk to the store wasn't the hardest part. Walking through the snow was the hardest part. Even steadying Tanaka every time he wobbled wasn't the hardest part.

The hardest part was getting Tanaka to follow the damn list.

"Okay, okay- We can buy this and eat it on the way back. They won't even know!" Tanaka reasoned, holding up a bag of chips. Asahi pushed the chips away, gazing down at the list. They'd so far picked up half the items on the list, but Asahi was having the slightest bit of trouble finding the crackers. Tanaka on his back bugging him about chips wasn't helping.

Meanwhile Tsukishima was on the other side of the store looking for anything sort of decent lens wipes. There weren't many people in the store, but there were enough to have him keeping his head down and be wary of his surroundings.

It didn't feel as strange as he thought it would to be in a public place, but he was fidgeting constantly, because he didn't have what he needed to stay grounded. He'd been torn out of his arms. Tsukishima managed to find a small box of lens cleaning wipes, and took it from the shelf before he wandered for a bit, attempting to block out the mind chatter of all the customers around him. Some looked at him, some stared, as if they _knew _ exactly who he was.

But no one spoke to him. No one confronted him, _"Hey, are you that missing kid from the news? Are you alright? Is your captor with you? Do you need help?"_  
Nothing. Not to him anyway,

It was almost refreshing to be in public. It felt familiar, but it didn't take away the emptiness at Tsukishima's sides. He didn't remember the last time he was truly alone like this. Had it been so suffocating?

Had people always watched his every move?

Why was he suddenly caring? Why were all of their voices so loud?

It was then that Tsukishima realized he couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. Why could he breathe? Why was it so hard to breathe? Why was he by himself? Why wasn't Tadashi here?

Why was everything spinning? Where was he again?

Tsukishima's breathing quickened as his heart began to race, and he swallowed, glancing over his shoulder and looking around. There were people nearby, but they weren't looking at him.

His thoughts were so loud that he couldn't hear anyone else's. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, and he couldn't breathe.

_I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe._

His throat had closed up tight and he couldn't stop it. Why was this happening? What was happening to him?

Tsukishima was hyperventilating without realizing it, and he felt dizzy, holding onto a nearby shelf to keep himself balanced. His legs were turning to jelly and he felt nauseous.

"Tsukishima?"

The blonde didn't hear his name, but he started to run, as the chaos of the entire store's thoughts came crashing down on him. Tears brimmed in his eyes and he panted, stifling the cry trying to fight its way out of his throat.

His hands slid up over his ears. "Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop it! _Stop it...!_" He whispered to himself.

"Hey, wait! What's wrong? Why are you running?" It was Asahi calling after him, following with Tanaka close behind.

"There's no one chasing us, why's he freaking out?" Asked Tanaka, weaving his way around a woman and her child to try and keep up.

"I don't know. But I don't think he's okay. We need to get back soon." Asahi replied. Weight lifted from his shoulders when he saw Tsukishima coming to a stop in a frozen food aisle. Tsukishima pressed his back to one of the glass doors and sank down, still covering his ears and screwing his eyes shut.

Asahi approached him warily, slowly as the blonde trembled. "Tsukishima, what's going on? Why did you run?" He asked, and crouched beside him. Tsukishima shook his head and didn't look up. Carefully Asahi took hold of Tsukishima's wrists and pulled his hands away from his ears, before he clamped them together between his own and looked the blonde in his opening eyes.

"It's going to be okay," He told him, because he didn't know what else to say, really. It wasn't uncommon for Asahi to have his own run-ins with anxiety- which is putting it lightly- and when it got to be too much, this helped him.

He gently started to rub the tops of Tsukishima's hands with his thumbs. Tsukishima, who had tears streaming down his cheeks, watched the older male, and didn't pull his hands away, nearly mesmerized by the circular motions of his thumbs. It was surprisingly soothing, fighting his fear away with consideration. It was unlike anything Tsukishima had ever experienced.

As Asahi started to murmur encouragement to the younger male, people around them looked, watched in confusion as to what was going on. One sharp stare from delinquent-looking Tanaka, and they were on their way.

Even Tanaka was surprised by the moment though, or more so by the fact that Tsukishima was letting someone other than Yamaguchi or Suga touch him. But Tanaka could barely deny his own uneasiness, and started to fidget the longer they stood there.

"Hey," Was he a dick for interrupting the moment? "What you're doing is great and all, but can we hurry this up? I don't like being out here." Tanaka said the last part lowly and rubbed his arms, glancing from place to place.

The other two agreed, and slowly but surely, Tsukishima let himself manage a small thanks as they made their way around the store. He hung back, giving Tanaka the opportunity to ask a question to Asahi.

"Hey, so...how'd you know that would work? That hand thing, I mean. Like, is it a known thing, or did you come up with that right on the spot?"

Asahi looked down at the floor for a moment, before looking back to Tanaka with a small but noticeable grin. "My grandmother used to do it when I was a kid. It...used to be really bad then."

"And it helped...?"

Asahi glanced back at Tsukishima, who was walking a little smoother and didn't look like he was going to run away. He didn't exactly look fantastic, but at least he didn't look like he was about to have a stroke.

After leaving the store and back into the cold, the boys all walked in silence, the snow crunching under their feet.

Tsukishima swayed carrying his share of the bags, heart pounding painfully and vision blurred even with his glasses on. It was hard to breathe and he was fighting the urge to let out a cough that would kill the silence. His head was aching almost unbearably, and he had drowned out the mind chatter of Tanaka and Asahi, for his own mind was swimming with a chaotic mess of his own thoughts.

"Tsukishima, catch up already, will ya'? We ain't got all day!" Tanaka called back to the young blonde. He didn't get a response and when he turned around, he dropped the bags and rushed just a few feet over with Asahi in tow. "Shit- What's gotten into you, man? Snap out of it!" He panicked, shaking the boy lying in the snow. Tsukishima had collapsed right as they made it across the road and back into the trees.

Tsukishima's eyes rolled back, and in that moment he was lost in unconsciousness.

_*_*_*_

[THE CABIN]  
Suga stepped slowly into Hinata and Kageyama's bedroom, apprehensive to enter. It was cluttered things like socks and other laundry that he was sure he'd reminded them to put in the basket. Most of Hinata's clothes were on his bed right near the door, his red hoodie vibrant compared to the Facility whites he'd been wearing underneath it. Throughout their time here, they managed a second outfit at least for everyone, giving them something other than that haunting white. Who wanted to be reminded of the past year every time they had to shower and put the same stuff on? Not Suga.

The gray-haired male, without complaint, began to tidy up the room, separating their clothes into their respective backpacks. When Suga's hands laid on Hinata's red hoodie, he stopped, taking his time to pick it up and look at it. After a moment of deciding, he draped it over his shoulder and finished packing the bag. They had little, therefor Suga was done by the time he noticed Hinata never got a chance make his bed.

_'That's right, he was outside, and ran off after that,'_ Suga thought, reaching down to pick up a small black feather tucked into the sheet. His eyes involuntarily started to water as he rubbed the soft feather between his fingers. _'And he never came back.'_

Suga took a breath, but it didn't stave off the pain that attacked his heart as he held the feather in his grip.

Why did it have to be him? Why Hinata, of all people?

Why the person that Suga desperately wanted to keep the safe most?

Suga reached up and slapped his cheek, sighing and sniffing as he shook his head. "Not now." He told himself, and wiped his tears on his sleeve. Slipping Hinata's feather into his pocket, he made up the small crow's bed and took their bags down to the living room.

Akaashi had volunteered to tidy up the kitchen after yesterday's attack, and refused to let Suga help as he wanted to pull his weight if even for a short time.

After setting the bags down, Suga looked around in search of Nishinoya, who appeared to have stayed in his room all morning. With Nishinoya nowhere in sight, Suga made his way back upstairs to wake him- he assumed he was sleeping.

Suga knocked softly on the door before he entered, finding that the curtains were open and at least Asahi's side of the room was clean.

"Noya, I thought I told you to tidy up. We're leaving soon." He said, glancing over to the bed in the middle where there was a stiff lump under the covers.

"I know..." Nishinoya's voice replied, and he appeared to turn away from Suga, proved by his wings dropping over the side of the bed into Suga's line of sight. The older male walked over and put a hand where he thought Nishinoya's shoulder might be. That was when it happened.

"Ah!-" Suga jumped back at the shock that shot through him and stood stunned for a moment as Nishinoya abruptly sat up and threw off his covers.

"S-Suga! I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to- I can't- I can't control it, I-"

But Suga hardly heard him, looking over his ruffled appearance. His hair was sticking in every direction, and his feathers were wild, as if they'd purposely been groomed the wrong way. Nishinoya looked pale, unwell as there were dark circles under his eyes and his hands shook.

"Sorry..."

"Nishinoya...what was that?" Suga asked softly, stepping close so he could see him properly. Nishinoya's troubled eyes gazed up at him and they held a light Suga had never seen before. They were still brown, but...there were hints of blue streaked throughout his irises. "It started last night. After Katsumata took 'em away. When we were in the woods and those guys came for Hinata, they shocked me with this thing, like an electric stick thing... But it- it didn't hurt, you know?"

The boy was self-consciously rubbing his left arm, averting his gaze. "It just felt more awake, and I tried to keep fighting. Then we got darted and they...got Hinata." He murmured.

Suga's eyes were semi-wide, and he would have given a comforting touch if he wouldn't be shocked. Instead, he crouched so he could look into the boy's eyes with his own. "It's not your fault. None of this is, okay? We're going to get them back." He tried to reassure, though he was still shocked about what Nishinoya had just done.

Nishinoya looked at him with tensed shoulders. "What're we gonna do after that? We can't stay here." He looked like a lost, frightened child, and Suga knew that inside, that was exactly what he was. Suga's eyes softened and he chewed his lip.

"We'll think of something. Just like we always have. Why don't you start cleaning up for now, and we'll talk more about this later?"

Nishinoya's shoulder relaxed and he nodded, but he didn't let Suga's gaze go. "I'm...I'm scared." He whispered.

What had they done to that strong boy Suga used to know? He wondered this as he reached up to cautiously cup Noya's cheek. There was a small static shock at contact, but he kept his hand there. "Of what?"

_"Me."_

Just then the front door bursted open. "Suga! Where are you, we've got a problem!"

Suga and Nishinoya shared a look before they both ran out the room to see what the ruckus was about. As they went downstairs, they could see Asahi and Tanaka carrying Tsukishima toward the living room, Tanaka at his feet and Asahi holding up his torso.

Instantly, panic rushed through Suga as he practically sprinted to them. "What happened?" He asked as they placed him on the couch.

Tanaka shrugged. "He just passed out in the snow! I dunno!"

Suga rushed to Tsukishima's side and pressed a hand to his forehead. "God, he's burning up. Is he sick?"

"Suga, I don't know, man!" Tanaka said again, panic clear in his voice.

"That question was rhetorical, of course you don't know!"

Akaashi came into the room with confusion on his face, turning into alarm at the sight of the pale, limp Tsukishima. "What happened?" He asked.

Suga shook his head and started to pull off the boy's jacket, trying to cool him down.

Akaashi watched and looked from person to person, noting that each of them were scared. He could hear the SUV pulling up outside, and that meant Daichi was back.

"Move over, everyone be quiet." He said, and walked over to the couch. Reluctantly, Suga did, and the room started to go quiet as he knelt beside Tsukishima.

Akaashi closed his eyes and put his hand to Tsukishima's forehead. He took a breath, and went silent.

Daichi came in, ready to ask why the door was open, but stopped at the sight in the living room. Confused, he opened his mouth to question it, but Asahi held up a hand, nodding to Akaashi, who was starting to frown.

"It's his heart. He's dying. Slowly, but it's happening."

"W-What?" Suga gasped, and stepped closer. How do you-"

"There's more."

Suga listened, admittedly impatient. Of course he wanted to help, but if Akaashi could figure out what happening, then he would wait however lonng he had to.

"I don't know what those people did to him, but his mind, it...it's latched onto..." Akaashi was quiet for a moment. "Tadashi. That's the one he's with?"

"Yeah," Said Daichi.

Akaashi hummed. "Not just his mind. His body, too. His heart, it's like his entire existence has become dependent on Tadashi. But it started with his mind, because Tadashi was the first he connected with when he developed his telepathy."

Jaws slowly dropped at Akaashi's explanation, and Suga couldn't barely think of anything to say as Akaashi took his hand away from Tsukishima. Suga turned to Daichi with softened, fearful eyes. "Then- Then that means Tadashi's suffering too. If what he said's really case, then..."

"Then we need to get moving. Now. Everyone grab your stuff, we're out in five minutes." Daichi said urgently, and everyone went to doing as he said. Tanaka, taking a last astonished glance as Akaashi, got to helping Daichi load up the SUV with their supplies, and Nishinoya started helping get their backpacks into it.

Suga lingered though, processing everything Akaashi had just said. And he felt hopeless.

He couldn't protect his own from anything it seemed. He was currently hoding back tears and he was trying to hold back tears and simultaneously speak.

"A-Akaashi-san...?" He practically whispered. "Could you please, um...do something for me?"

Akaashi turned and faced him with a soft nod, and his eyes followed Suga's hand into his pocket.

"If- If it isn't too much trouble, could..." Suga paused to take a shaky breath. "Could you tell me how Shouyo is doing? Please? I just- I have to know."

Akaashi nodded. "I need his DNA."

Suga opened his hand and presented Hinata's feather. He was just barely holding it together now.

Akaashi didn't take the feather, instead resting his palm on top of Suga's as he closed his eyes. It was clear that Suga was close to his breaking point, and the fact that he was carrying around Hinata's feather at all proved that he needed it. Akaashi didn't dare take it even for a second.

Suga waited patiently, using his free hand to rub his brimming tears away.

"He's alive." Suga let out a relieved half sob-half sigh, his tears finally starting to break free against his will.

Akaashi went on. "He's still sick. It is getting better, but he's very weak. He doesn't have enough blood to even walk. They've already started taking." Akaashi explained, eyebrows furrowed. Suga's hand started trembling under his own, and Akaashi moved his other hand up under it to keep it steady.

"Do you want to know what he's doing? It isn't pleasant." He asked apprehensively.

Suga opened his mouth to speak, but no words could come out as he cried. He nodded.

Akaashi gave Suga a sympathetic look, and continued. "He's resting in a bed. Crying for a number of reasons. He's watching Tadashi in the bed next to his, and he's devastated. He's waiting." Akaashi whispered gently. "He's waiting for you." He tried to smile, and it faded as Suga started to cry harder.

"Shouyo...!" He whimpered, and Akaashi let go of him, allowing him to clutch the black feather to his chest. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Suga sank to his knees and tried to stifle his cries into the back of his hand, to no avail.

Akaashi was stricken with a guilt similar to Suga's, and crouched to pull him into a hug. It was a foreign action, only having hugged Kenma for a while, but when Suga rested his weight on him and cried, Akaashi knew he needed to be here.

"I know," He said, and rubbed his back. He wanted Suga be glad he knew.

Because Akaashi had no part of his loved ones, therefor permanently out of the loop on how they were doing. It was a silent killer and motivator all at once.

"They- They're so far away from me, and I just- I can't even help them!" Suga sobbed into his shoulder.

Akaashi bit his lip, sighing as he pulled away from the grieving male. He looked so different. He wasn't the encouraging, refreshing guy he'd met before.

He was completely broken.

"We're going to get them," He assured, and took hold of Suga's shoulders to steady him.

"It's only a little longer now."

And he was telling himself that too, hoping and praying that at least someone he knew was still alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOOOO BOI THIS WAS A LONG ONE TO WRITE!  
Yamaguchi has Tsukishima and his body completely whipped but it's depressing, whoops-  
I dead-ass love torturing my Suga with grief, and I'm low-key not sorry because I still love him-  
Angst fuels me, though my desire for angst is a black hole never to be totally satiated-
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to let you guys know to be safe out there with the Coronavirus going around. I honestly didn't think something like this could happen. I'm sure none of us thought it could happen until it was already on top of us.  
They're shutting everything down, and I don't know how this can get any worse. I am currently stuck in my home as I'm sure many of you are as well. While this is madness, and I dislike being stuck home, I shall not sulk!  
I will still be writing out chapters as frequently as I can, and I wanted you guys to know I'm still here!
> 
> Be safe, and keep as clean as possible!
> 
> Enjoy this chapter to lift your spirits even though this story is depressing as hell! This one's more laid back, but they aren't going to be like this much more. ;)
> 
> With love, BIGJUICY~

[DAY 4, THE NEST]

It's been what, four days now?

Hinata didn't know, he was hardly able to keep count. He was sure it had been at least one full day since he agreed to start giving his blood. But since then, he wasn't allowed to leave the Nest. Katsumata had been coming to him for examination checks every other hour or so and every time, Kageyama watched him like a wild animal from his own bed, which was nothing new. But it was like a dark corner on Hinata's right side all the time, two sharp eyes peeking out from that corner to watch Katsumata's every move.

_'I wish he'd quit that.'_ Hinata thought, chewing his lip as Katsumata tended to his wings. Hinata sat cross-legged facing Kageyama's bed, where the dark-eyed boy was watching them like a hawk. A very, very pissed off hawk. He was squeezing the book in his lap, having been reading it for the past few hours since Yamaguchi had been taken in to be monitored by the doctors.

Hinata could feel Katsumata's fingers pressing into his back, where the slits were supposed to be. But lately Hinata's back had been feeling tight, and one look at it from Kageyama confirmed that the slits in their backs were starting to close up. But they didn't know what that meant, and after bringing it up to Katsumata, here they were.

"Indeed, they are starting to close."

"But what's that mean? They've been there for so long already, I figured..."

"That they were a part of having your wings? No. In fact, it appears the slits weren't meant to be permanent at all. They were only part of the growth process, do you see? The wings could slip in and out with ease, and have their place to continue growing in safety. But as your wings reach full maturity, the slits will close as the growth process approaches completion."

Hinata didn't like the sound of that. That meant that there really wouldn't be any hiding his wings anymore. Which meant that if they were rescued, they would be entirely exposed to all of the regular people. Finally, Katsumata was pulling Hinata's shirt down and helping his wings carefully through the holes.

"Now you, W9." Katsumata rounded Hinata's bed and approached Kageyama who begrudgingly allowed Katsumata to maneuver his wings through the holes in the shirt and pull the material up to reveal his back. The man inspected the teenager's back quietly, guiding his fingers over the abnormal outlines of the wings growing underneath his skin.

"Dammit." Katsumata cursed, and slipped his finger into the slit around the right wing, making Kageyama flinch and hiss in pain. Blood trickled down Kageyama's back, and the man frowned. "This is no good."

"You fucked up, didn't you, you piece of shit? Answer me!" Kageyama growled, gripping the bars in shaky fists. Hinata could tell Kageyama didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid. Afraid of what, Hinata didn't know, for Kageyama had done a great job at keeping his mutation a secret.

"They're emerging prematurely, before the muscles have had time to form and shape themselves properly. This is troubling, it could mean health complications with your full-fledged wings if we don't amputate. If we were to let them protrude this way, it's highly plausible that they would tear their way out of your back, dislocating your wing stems in the process."

Hinata perked up then, wings raising slightly in defense. "What? Amputate what- What are you talking about?"

"You stubborn thing. You should have said something the moment you got here. I don't know who performed your examination or how this was overlooked, but you need to drop this childish attitude of yours. It's only going to make you more miserable." Katsumata said, gently pulling Kageyama's shirt back down and looking at the blood on his gloved finger. There were bits of feather sticking to it, wet and small and black.

"W-Wait, amputate what? What's happening to Kageyama?" Hinata asked again, gripping the bars on the side of his bed anxiously. Katsumata glanced at him and then at his wings, and made his way toward the door. "I'll be back shortly."

Hinata hated that answer, but before he knew it, the man had left him and Kageyama to themselves in the Nest. The air was silent, and Hinata's gaze lingered on the door before swtiching to Kageyama, who was making no effort to answer his questions or put his shirt back on properly. He didn't even look like he cared to move. His head hung low and Hinata couldn't see his face.

"What's he talking about?" The ginger asked, curling his left wing around his front and holding onto it. It had become a habit to run his fingers through his own feathers, now that Suga wasn't here to do it. But Hinata didn't want to think about that right now, and was more worried about Kageyama.  
He never thought he'd think such a thing.

Kageyama was silent for a few moments longer, before he arose from his bed and took slow steps over to Hinata, seemingly dreading every second that he got closer. He turned around once he reached Hinata's bed and stood there letting his back face the smaller male. Hinata was confused until Kageyama lifted and outstretched his wings to reveal his abnormally shaped back muscles, and he flinched at the sight, gripping his own wing.

"They've been growing since we first got out of here. He says...that they're deformed. That they're coming out too soon."

"Well I know that! Why didn't you tell us?!" Hinata gasped, and his wing curled back behind him as he got up on his knees for a better look. "Why...why didn't you tell _me_?"

Kageyama was fiddling with his fingers, head low in shame at how hideous he must have looked. He could hardly move without pain, and having to sleep wasn't helping it. But the way it must have looked, two lumps under his skin that were close to tearing out of his back...horrid.

"It looks disgusting, doesn't it?" Asked Kageyama, chewing the soft inside of his cheek to prevent tears that he was too ashamed to let go. Hinata was quiet, carefully bringing up a slow hand to touch below the right lump. The slit was slightly more agape after Katsumata brutally stuck his finger into it, and it reminded Hinata of those times of being at the doctor and complaining about pain, only for the doctor to handle you roughly to make sure you weren't injured.

"It...it looks like it hurts, Kageyama. Why didn't you tell me?" Hinata replied, and started to help Kageyama's wings back through the holes in the back of the shirt. He honestly didn't know how to feel. It was understandable hating something like this and wanting to keep to yourself. It's not like Kageyama asked for it. Once the shirt was back on, Kageyama turned and faced Hinata with low eyes.

"It wasn't important. I didn't wanna make your pain worse." He murmured. Hinata leaned forward and tried to look up into Kageyama's eyes, but Kageyama only further looked off to the side. 

Hinata's eyes saddened, and he huffed. "My pain is always worse! I could've been trying to help you this whole time, I-" Hinata stopped and clutched his chest, coughing into his arm and wheezing. Kageyama did look at him then, eyes worried and pained. Now he just felt guilty for getting Hinata worked up.

"Just calm down, will you? You don't have to hurt yourself over me." He said, reaching up to steady Hinata by the shoulder. Hinata's coughs died down, and his head hung low, tears threatening to fall. God, why was he crying so much? He was so weak these days, it was starting to turn into a real nuisance.

"Do you...think Yamaguchi's going to be okay?" He asked slowly, swallowing. Kageyama looked over Hinata's head to Yamaguchi's empty bed where the sheets had been changed. He had only been returned to the Nest yesterday, but this morning he was having breathing issues, so he was being looked after in the medical ward.

Kageyama would have rather had both of them here but he wasn't going to put up a fight. Hinata spoke again. "I...think maybe it's better that they're watching him now. They always overlooked him, but...ever since what happened, Yamaguchi's needed help. And Tsukishima's always been there, but he doesn't have him now. I can't even imagine what that's like for him."

Kageyama was nodding in agreement, gaze finding Yamaguchi's pillow, which no longer held his scent after being switched out for one that didn't have blood on it. He wondered how Yamaguchi was doing now, but it didn't hold a big space in his mind when he'd just learned he was about to have surgery.  
As if reading his mind, Hinata reached up and gently took hold of Kageyama's left wrist with his right hands. "Are you scared?"

Kageyama's gaze snapped down to their hands, up at Hinata and back down once again. He hadn't expected the contact, but he wasn't going to push it away, instead subtly pulling his hand up so he could hold onto Hinata's smaller hand.

Was this gay? Were they being gay holding hands like this? Did this mean something for them?  
_'It's not gay if you're both wearing socks, or something like that was what Tanaka said.'_ Thought Kageyama. _'And we _are_ wearing socks. What does that mean?!'_

Hinata was watching their hands too now, heart filling with a foreign warmth and familiarity. It felt different than holding onto Suga or Yamaguchi, or his mother(what did that feel like again? Even that stood separately from holding onto Suga). It felt close, but even now, he and Kageyama had never been this close. Then again, there was that time the other night when Kageyama comforted him after the first blood tests, and the other day when he protected him with his wing from Katsumata. Even during those times, Hinata didn't want to be apart from Kageyama.

Like now. He didn't want to be separated from anyone else. Hinata couldn't of course say that it was just because he was afraid of being alone- and while that was true, it wasn't just that. He wanted to stay with Kageyama. Kageyama barely heard the question, too focused on their hands, but he answered.

"My mom used to have a lot of surgeries when I was a kid, so I'm used to the idea-"

"Are you _scared_?"

Kageyama closed his mouth, and he nodded. It was then that Hinata leaned up and wrapped his arms around Kageyama's neck, burying his face in his shoulder.  
"I'm gonna be here when you get back. I'll be waiting for you, Kageyama-kun. Okay?"

Kageyama's eyes had gone wide, and his hands trembled at his sides as his throat closed up and his tears threatened to burst. He wrapped his arms around Hinata's smaller form and held onto him for his own sake, lip quivering as he started to cry. Hinata nuzzled into his shoulder, holding him securely.

"I'm gonna be here waiting for you. So just be strong get through this so you can be better. That way you won't have to hurt so bad when we get out." He whispered, his own tears dripping down his face for what seemed like the hundredth time. "I'll try to be strong, too."

Kageyama opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He grit his teeth and squeezed Hinata- not too hard, but enough to secure him against his chest.

When Hinata's eyes peeked open, he could see off to the side a few doctors watching them through the window. _'Let them look,'_ he figured.

What could he do now that they imposed on all their personal moments whether he wanted them to or not? All Hinata wanted to do was be here for Kageyama, because when Hinata didn't expect it, Kageyama came through for him more than once.

Now it was his turn to be there. If he had to admit it, touching Kageyama felt...pretty nice when Kageyama was letting him.

_*_*_*_

[THE FACILITY]

"So what's that supposed to mean? That doesn't tell me anything other than the fact that you're having him looked at. Is he coming back or not?"

The doctor eyed the feline teen with irritation as he disinfected the vein in the bend of his arm. "It means you should stop asking so many damn questions. Being looked at means being looked at, and me telling you if it's coming back to the Den or not isn't going to make you happy."

The teen's long black tail swayed as if he were toying with the man, sharp eyes scaling his every move and furry black ears listening to his damned heartbeat. Oh, how he would love to make that beating stop. It wouldn't take much.

"You're right," he said, and smirked as the man neared him with the syringe full of crimson. They'd been giving that to him for the past few days now, mostly in the hopes that it would return sight to his blind left eye. He assumed they were trying to fix their mistakes, but he hadn't cared much in the past year of being here. "But tell me anyway."

The doctor sighed. "You're relentless, I'll give you that. C1 very well may be returning healthy as it was before it began showing symptoms. The blind eyes, you remember."

Of course he remembered, he was the one who panicked at the sight of them and got the attention of doctors. He nodded, and the white coat inserted the needle into his vein with a pinch that he'd learned to tolerate with a straight face.

"With what I'm giving you here, we were able to cure the blindness, as C1 was early into that stage of the symptoms. The same can be said for O6, who has already begun to respond positively to electrical stimuli. In other words, they're both starting to heal, so you can stop asking me questions and let me give this to you, C1." The doctor said.

C1, or more frequently known as Kuroo, watched as the blood was injected into his vein. It only took a few seconds before the syringe was being pulled out and the small hole left behind was cleaned.

"This so-called "cure" that everyone's going on about. Whose ass did you pull _this_ out of?" He asked with a small smirk, glancing over to the doctor with his mischievous slit eye.

The doctor groaned, so thoroughly fed up by the experiment that he opened his mouth when he very well should have kept it closed. "We created it from the blood of W10"

Kuroo raised a brow. "Am I supposed to know who that is?"

"No. Now get out of here before I convince Dr. Katsumata to put you down."

Kuroo slid off the examination table then and went for the door. Most others weren't allowed semi-free roaming, but when you hadn't assaulted a guard or doctor in a good few months, there were small privileges one could get. Made him wonder what those winged ones were always doing to never be given the opportunity.

Kuroo whistled to himself as he started making his way down the halls, taking the long way instead of the short way. Recently the west side of the building had been opened to him, and he figured he'd take the chance to explore it rather than head back to the Den.

Tail swaying behind him and ears twitching to every noise they picked up, he strolled through the Facility with ease in his heart. Until he hadn't seen a doctor in a while. That was when he clenched his fists so hard that his sharpened nails dug into his palms.

On his way here he'd started making a note of where the exit doors were, because did you honestly think Kuroo would behave willingly after he'd lost friends to a place as cruel as this?

Inside, Kuroo boiled with a rage so hateful, so full of animosity that it was miraculous how he'd managed to stay so laid back for all the white coats. But he was reaching his end soon. He couldn't take this place anymore. They'd taken Inuoka, who only survived until a few months ago when his heart failed. Fukunaga was put down when he stopped functioning after being spliced. His ears didn't grow right, and neither did his tail, and his brain couldn't handle the change, or so the white coats said.

Then there were Kai and Shibayama. Dead. Kai in his sleep, and Shibayama during electrocution.

Kuroo hated it. He wanted to burn this place to the fucking ground, but he didn't even know where to start. He'd heard of the ones who'd escaped. He had no idea how they'd even done it. There were eyes all over this place, how was it even possible?

Nowadays, there was no color. Lev barely smiled, and Yamamoto had many scars from being punished but he never learned his lesson because he was too angry. Yaku occasionally had a few outbursts, but spent most of his time tending to Kenma, who was so much frailer and could never escape from the roaming hands of that one doctor who was always smiling. He was the one that Kuroo wanted to kill the most. He wanted to shred him into pieces, pluck away his fingernails and make him eat them, sever each of his fingers so that he could never lay a single one on Kenma ever again.

He was the one Kenma told him about after the first few times it happened. The marks on his back were the first thing Kuroo had noticed, at the same time he noticed the doctor's scent all over him. Kuroo wasn't having it then. The doctor was the first person he attacked and that landed him a hell of a punishment. Everyone knew what was going on. Every single one of those doctors was letting it happen.

But Kuroo was going to fix it. That was a promise he'd made to the fellow cats in his Den, the ones he still had left. He didn't know how he was going to do it, but he was. Even if it cost him his life, he was going to get them out of here. At the moment he looked forward to seeing Kenma after he and Akaashi were taken along to go pick up the escaped winged kids. Kenma hadn't been back to the Den yet since they returned four days ago.

Huffing, Kuroo unclenched his fists and continued walking through the west side of the building. It smelled different here. He didn't like it. It was completely unfamiliar, and he hated it. Did he prefer the sick familiarity of the east side of the building where the Den was and where the familiar labs were? Yes. Perhaps he did. That was where the medical ward was, why wouldn't he turn back and go see Bokuto?

It was all he could think of to calm himself down for now.

The walk there wasn't nearly as frustrated as the previous one, mostly because seeing his best friend- even in his terrible state -would take away the storm clouds just a little bit. Flashing a smile at the gruff guard at the doors, Kuroo winked and pushed inside, eyes immediately settling on Bokuto's bed. In it, the gray-haired male lay, hands hovering over his face and bandages discarded over his stomach. It was already uplifting to see that Bokuto was gaining himself back, and Kuroo refused to fight a real smile as he approached. Bokuto hadn't noticed him, too enamored with the small gray feathers poking out of his hands and forearms. They were scattered and small, easy to pick out with a small insignificant pinch.

"Look who's back in reality." Kuroo greeted, and leaned down to hug him. Bokuto was quiet, hugging back. "Reality fucking sucks." He said lowly, and Kuroo laughed.

"I hear you." He let go and pulled up a nearby chair to sit beside him. Bokuto rubbed at his wrists, bruised from the rough leather straps. It was nothing he wasn't used to, and he figured he'd leave his arms be so he could talk to his friend.

"How you feelin'? Asked Kuroo, tail swaying pleasantly behind him. Bokuto groaned lowly and brought a hand up to rub his head. "Like crap. Better than not feeling anything, I guess." His eyes were dark, and Kuroo couldn't remember the last time they looked different.

"Bro?" Bokuto called, and Kuroo averted his gaze from his eyes. He'd been staring. Funny, one would think everyone would stare at his own eye, but in this place, maybe it just wasn't the strangest thing to anyone.  
"Sorry."

Bokuto nodded, but he could see it in Kuroo eyes- _EYE_. In Kuroo's eye. He was thinking about the same thing he always was. "Don't start beating yourself up again. We've still gotta find a way out, you know." Bokuto tried to smile, but Kuroo looked dejected. Bokuto reached over and grabbed Kuroo's arm, pulling his close.

Kuroo was taken aback by the tug, but prepared to listen as both Bokuto's voice and his determined eyes spoke. "We _have_ to. I don't know where Keiji is, but he's out there. They can't bring him back here, Kuroo, alright? So we can't give up. All of have to get out of here. I don't wanna die here. _We_ can't die here."

Kuroo's lips formed a thin line, and his ears lowered flat against his head as he listened. Bokuto was right, and he knew it. He knew Bokuto was right, and all he had to think about was them. Yaku, Kenma, Yamamoto and Lev. They needed him. He wasn't about to abandon them, definitely not now, and not ever. He needed to get it together.

_"Hinata...?"_

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here, don't worry."

Kuroo's ears twitched at the familiar voices, and he lifted his head, looking over to Bokuto's right. A good three beds down, there was a familiar mop of bright red curls, and they were obscuring their owner's face as he gazed down at the owner of familiar freckles. Kuroo's eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a bit, eyes squinting as he tried to judge whether or not he had officially gone insane.

Was that Karsuno's number ten and number twelve, or had he finally lost his mind? "Hey, Bo? Is that-" Kuroo pointed and Bokuto looked, frowning until he saw what Kuroo was pointing out.

"Ho-ly shit. Now fucking way." Bokuto sat up while Kuroo stood, and the sudden movement gained the attention of the two they were watching.

Hinata stared back at them for a moment, seemingly unfazed by their presence. Then he smiled a bit. A fake smile. "Oh, it's you guys."

Kuroo jogged over and stopped behind Hinata, grabbing him up by the armpits and holding him up in the air. He turned, showing him to Bokuto, thankful that the guards only guarded outside of the doors and they boys were left with only cameras to watch them. "We were right! Look who it is!" Kuroo's tail was swaying erratically now, a wide grin stretching his cheeks.

"Alright!" Bokuto cheered, and moved to start getting off the bed. Only, his legs were still numb and he ended up face planting, wings flapping down and causing a gust of cold air to flow in their direction.

The feline teen sighed. "Ah...jeez. Hang on, I'm coming." Kuroo set Hinata down and went to help, letting Bokuto use him for support on the way back over.

Bokuto smiled wider the closer they got, and Hinata shared this smile, not bothering to ask why it seemed the older male didn't remember their earlier encounter.

"Holy shit." Bokuto said again, relaxing the arm around Kuroo's neck as they stopped beside Yamaguchi's bed. "It's so good to see someone else, you have no idea! Well- not in _this_ shit hole, but you get it." He smiled widely.

Kuroo sniffed the air though, and leaned forward toward Hinata, who instinctively leaned backward a bit, clutching Yamaguchi's hand, which he had been gently rubbing to take the freckled boy's mind off of pain.

Kuroo's eyebrows furrowed, and his face twitched into an unpleasant scrunch. "You smell like Keiji. Even under that shitty disinfectant they drenched you in." Kuroo continued to sniff the younger boy, who immediately looked to Bokuto, whose smile had been replaced by something close to distress.

Hinata stammered to explain, an instant fear washing over him in that moment. Because really, he didn't know these two. He knew _who_ they were, but he didn't know anything about them. He could think that he did all day long, but Hinata knew that this place they were in did things to the children in it.

It took those children and it twisted them to the limits of their own sanity. Yamaguchi was a perfect example.

"Th-They came to our house." Hinata started, and Yamaguchi, who was still partially out of it from the painkillers he was given, twitched. "Tsukki's there." He added, and the older males looked down at him. Yamaguchi smiled softly. "Tsukki knows you. How come you guys aren't at your school practicing? Don't we...have a match coming up...?" And with that, his eyes closed.

The group went silent for a minute, and Kuroo shook his head. "Damn, they even fucked up freckles. Tell us what the hell's going on."

Hinata cleared his throat, his heart pounding now at the sight of familiar faces. He realized what this meant. For one, they had more power during their eventual escape. And two?

They weren't dead yet.

"Just let me explain."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *My maniacal laughter echoing in the distance*

[DAY 4, THE MURDER]

Driving on snowy road was only half the battle in driving for two whole days, that's what Daichi thought.

"Are we getting close? I'm ready to beat the shit outta somebody."

"Relax, Tanaka. Don't start getting yourself worked up already." Daichi said, but he could empathize. He squeezed the steering wheel, taking a deep breath as they pulled into the parking lot of a gas station and stopped at a pump. He noted the inhabited police car parked in front of the store.

"I can do it." Said Nishinoya, who sat in the second row alone, having insisted that he needed the space for rest. He leaned forward and gripped the side of Daichi's seat, looking out the windshield at the small building, eyes rolling over the police cruiser as well. It didn't discourage him as much as it should have. Suga half-turned to look at him, eyes scanning over him reluctantly. "I don't know if that's the best idea, Noya."

"I'll be in and out, I swear! I'll just pay for the gas and come back."

"And you'll-"

"And I'll keep my hood on. Come on! Promise I won't get myself arrested!" He pleaded, and looked between the two of them. The car became mostly silent as Daichi turned off the engine, for Asahi, Tsukishima and Akaashi were still resting, Asahi beside Tanaka in the row behind Noya, and Akaashi and Tsukishima behind them. Their bags and supplies resided in the trunk space.

Tanaka leaned forward. "I'll go with him. We'll be quick, alright?" He added, and with two sets of pleading eyes on him, Daichi didn't have the energy to argue. Sensing his stress, Suga turned around fully to give them both a serious look.

"No shenanigans. You go in, pay for the gas, and come back out." He said, handing the money back to Tanaka while Noya got out with a smile on his face. Part of him just wanted to stretch. Who the heck would be eager to pay for gas? No, Noya had something else in mind.

"And don't-"

"Don't draw attention to ourselves! Yeah, we got it, Mom!" Tanaka teased, and slammed the door behind him as he stepped out into the freezing air, startling Asahi and Akaashi awake. Tsukishima stirred, but he did not open his eyes, bundled up under a mass of fluffy blankets with his head against the window as he slumbered.

Suga sighed and laid back in the passenger seat, before glancing over at Daichi. "You're squeezing the wheel, Dai." Indeed, Daichi's knuckles had turned white he was clutching the steering wheel so hard. He didn't show any signs of letting go or even having heard Suga, so the gentle male carefully unclasped Daichi's hands, taking them in his own.

"What's the matter?" Suga asked. It was a stupid question; everything was wrong. Daichi met his eyes, and letting his hands be caressed. "Just anxious. Anxious, eager, and angry." Suga lifted Daichi's left hand to his lips and gave a simple kiss to the top. "We all are. But stay with us, okay? We save that for the people at the Facility."

Daichi knew Suga was right. Suga cupped his cheek and he leaned into his touch. "I know."

Meanwhile, as Tanaka and Nishinoya entered the gas station with their hoods on, the lights inside flickered, to no one's notice but their own. There were few people in the gas station, four or five at the moment, but it was relieving that the officer was still in his car.

The boys stood side by side, flashing pleasant grins at the cashier as they paid for the gas. Tanaka gave a thumbs up to Daichi out at the pump, and was relieved to see that Suga appeared to be tending to Tsukishima. Distracted.

"Sure you got this?" Whispered Tanaka, taking a wary glance around the small store before he looked back at the cashier, who was trying his best to not awkwardly stare at two suspicious-looking teenagers.

Noya cracked his knuckles and smirked, and he could feel the electricity buzzing through him. Unbeknownst to anyone but Tanaka, he had been trying to focus this weird ability ever since he shocked Suga the other day. Every place they stopped at- which had only been two others -he tested it on a stranger and knocked them out before stealing their wallet. Sure, maybe that was cruel, but he figured that their group needed the money a lot more.

"Sure. It's not like I'm gonna kill the guy." Noya said, and briefly rubbed his hands together. The cashier had flinched and his smile faltered. "W-What?"

The boys didn't respond, but Noya looked up at him and his eyes were bright blue for that moment. "Sorry about this." And before the man could react, the boy reached over the counter and touched his hand to the man's chest.

The cashier's body jerked and he flew back against the counter behind him, flailing limbs causing numerous items to fall over. The lights buzzed and burned out, the bulbs shattering with a startling flash as the boys cowered from the falling shards.

The gas station became silent just like that. Dead silent and dark. Tanaka slowly lifted his head, and looked around before his eyes fell to Nishinoya's hands. The shorter boy was hunched onto his knees, hands shaking and tensed. He was breathing heavily, and he was shaking.

Tanaka reached out to touch him. "H-Hey, Yuu, are you okay? That was pretty intense-" Nishinoya dodged the attempted touch and collapsed down on the floor. "Don't! Don't touch me! It's bad right after I do it."

Tanaka could see that, but slowly rose to his feet, peering over the counter. Noya followed, wincing at the sight of the cashier's body, smoking and burning. "Oh, fuck."

"H-Hey, are you two alright? Are you injured?" A man asked, clearly concerned after witnessing what had just happened. Before anyone could stop him, he touched Nishinoya's shoulder.

In a shock more violent than the last, he collided brutally with a nearby shelf, knocking it over and causing a nearby woman to shriek as the glass around them shattered. The glass doors, the bottles, everything.

She lifted her gaze from the body to Nishinoya, and she gasped, a hand over her mouth at the mere sight of him. Tanaka looked over at him and furrowed his eyebrows in what Nishinoya could only decipher as fear.

Nishinoya's eyes had gone completely blue, a vibrant inhuman blue, the veins in his hands and around his eyes had began to glow a similar electric blue. The woman was crying and panicking.

The boys sat in shock, before the door to the gas station burst open and in came the officer who had been sitting in his car.

"Jesus, what the hell just-" He froze at the sight of Nishinoya, and fumbled to pull out his gun. Panicking, Tanaka jumped to his feet and slammed straight into the man, before he and Noya sprinted out of the small store.

"Start- Start the car! Start the fucking car!" Yelled Tanaka, and Suga opened his door, partially stepping out and waving his hand.

"We saw! Hurry up!" He called, and ducked back into the car, cursing when the officer came rushing out. Daichi quickly hopped in and started the car back up, backing them up and getting them back onto the road. Probably too fast, and yet it didn't feel fast enough.

"Goddammit, what happened in there?!" He shouted, scaring the lethargic Tsukishima awake. He looked around in a panic as the car started to speed down the road, and Akaashi put a hand on his covered shoulder to steady him.

Nishinoya straightened himself out on the seat and scooted so Tanaka and Asahi had more room, just barely a few inches between himself and Tanaka. He shrunk down in his seat, waiting for Daichi to yell at him, to shout again. But he didn't. Instead the older male glanced at him through the rear view mirror- let it be known that his eyes were still teeming with fury, but most of all, fear. Nishinoya didn't think it would make him feel like shit.

"Are you two _at least_ all right? Did anyone grab you or hurt you?"

They shook their heads, and that was when he sighed, asking again, "What happened in there?"

The wailing of sirens interrupted Noya's somber response, and behind them, Akaashi turned around, eyes widening at the sight of the police car following them.

**"PULL OVER YOUR VEHICLE NOW!"** The officer's voice commanded, and it left a ringing in the air. Nishinoya reached up and gripped his hair, pulling his feet up and curling into himself.

"It's my fault, I killed them!"

Suga whirled around in his seat, eyes widened in disbelief and alarm. "Wha- Killed who?! Yuu, the police are on us, what did you do?"

Tanaka chimed in. "It was an accident! Can't we just lose him?"

Daichi replied, "Doesn't that look like what I'm trying to do?!"

Noya's hands slid over his ears in an attempt to muffle the wails of the sirens and the yelling. He could still see the cashier's face right before he died. He hadn't known he was going to die, but that look of initial pain of the touch was imprinted into Nishinoya's brain. It was all he could see.

He was starting to feel it again, but not in the confident way he had earlier. It was a power born from devastation and guilt, pounding him over the head and screaming at him. The noise made him cower, but his cowering didn't stop the electricity sparking inside and around him. They were getting onto the highway now, and there was no room to weave between any of the other cars when the lanes were packed. The police car ended up only one car behind them, and while grateful, Daichi wasn't going to get comfortable behind the wheel.

Was it getting hotter, it felt like it was getting hotter to Nishinoya. He felt like he couldn't breathe. His wings slipped out in an attempt to cover himself, but with the minimal space, it was only more crowded than before. The cop car started honking, and it sounded like it was right in his ear.

He couldn't take it.

Noya crawled over the seat to Akaashi and Tsukishima, and reached into the trunk space for his bag, before pulling back and partially stepping on Tanaka to pull open the cover for the skylight. Before anyone could react, he pulled himself up through it, into the cold wind of the outside winter.

"Noya, you're gonna get yourself killed!" Tanaka panicked, grabbing hold of his foot before he could get too far away.

Asahi grabbed onto his higher leg. "You're not thinking clearly, where are you going?! Daichi, we have to stop the car!"

"Asahi, does it _look_ like I can stop the car?! Get him back in here!"

Suga's hands were shaking, as he could sense everything that Noya was feeling, and with quick thinking, he rolled down his window, sticking his head and then torso out before twisting his body to he could grab to top edge of the window space and start to pull himself out. Daichi's head snapped to the side and he reached over to grab the front of his shirt, struggling to get them in the next lane as a turnoff appeared up ahead.

He didn't try to stop Suga, letting his hand slide down his leg as the other male slowly slipped out and up onto the roof of the car.

"Oh God, oh God, _oh God, oh God_-"

"Asahi, stop panicking!" Daichi called.

"I'm _trying_-"

"Try harder!"

On the roof, Suga could see Nishinoya trying to tug his leg up, tears streaming down his cheeks. Forgetting to have any shred of fear, he reached and wrapped his arms around him, clutching him to his chest and making him freeze up. Suga didn't even think about the fact that surely Nishinoya's wings could be seen by many. In the middle of his reckless adrenaline, Suga's own wings slipped out. It was an uncomfortable reveal, pain coming from the slits as they were stretched. He made a mental note to have Daichi look at them when they were safe.

"Yuu," He said, curling his wings around the smaller boy, and shielding him and his wings completely from the view of the other cars. He could see the car behind theirs swerve, the driver clearly alarmed. "It's gonna be okay-"

"I killed them! S-Suga, I killed them!" Noya started to bawl, and buried his face in Suga's shoulder. "I don't wanna be a monster!"

"I know. I know you don't, you won't be. I promise you, you won't ever be a monster. I won't let that happen." Suga knew he was scared. He knew that Noya was _terrified_. But he couldn't let him suffer it alone.

"I can't lose you too, okay? We're going to figure it out. Let's get back in the car, Yuu." Suga whispered to him, and cupped the boy's face so he could look at him. At the sight of Suga's face, Noya cried harder, leaning into his touch and submitting to the ease Suga was pulling up into relevance. He slowly nodded, sniffling and letting his tears be wiped away.

Carefully, he started to slip back down through the skylight, holding onto Suga's hand and pulling his wings tight to his back so he could fit. Suddenly the car behind them rammed into them, nearly throwing Suga from the roof and reminding him of the reality that he had just revealed himself to everyone around him. The cop car was ramming into the one behind the SUV, and it was then that Suga realized this guy was insane.

"Hang on, we're almost there!" Daichi called, turning them into the lane that would take them off the highway. Daichi started to speed now, anything to get them away from the threat. But being away from a city meant that there was no way for them to lose this crazy officer. He could hear more sirens in the distance, and now he was starting to think ditching the car was the best option.

With the space to do so, Daichi began to weave between cars, picking up the pace. In the backseat, Nishinoya ended up quietly between Tanaka and Asahi, head down and wings curled around himself. Akaashi still held onto Tsukishima's shoulder to try and keep him still, while the poor blonde was so pale he looked like he was going to be sick all over his own lap.

The brutal wind whipped hard against Suga, hurling through his feathers and carrying some off. This time the officer telling them to pull over was even louder, but all Suga wanted was to regain his rationality and climb back into the car. They were almost out now, and as cars closed into the spaces they had weaved through, the officer was falling farther behind. Even so, that didn't mean the other wailing cruisers catching up would do the same. All Suga hoped was that no one had thought to take out their phones while driving. But then, was that more of a hazard than a crazy officer at the moment?

The sirens were starting to become distant, and Suga sighed softly in relief. He held onto the skylight as Daich sped through traffic, and as soon as a small building came up, Daichi pulled around behind it so they could not be seen. Shaking from adrenaline and cold, Suga let himself start to slip off the side of the SUV.

"Koushi! Are you alright?" He heard Daichi call as he opened his door.

"Yes and no. Pretty sure everyone just saw me." Suga replied once on the ground safely, and before he knew it, Daichi had enveloped him in a large hug, sighing. "God, you scared the hell out of me." He said, before starting to check his lover for any possible wounds. It made Suga laugh.

"Daichi, I don't think the wind can cut me." He said, and the others were stepping out of the car. As soon as Asahi was out, he ran off and wretched, throwing up everything he'd eaten during their makeshift breakfast. Filling, but if only it had lasted. "I'll get him," Said Tanaka, who climbed out and jogged over to the vomiting brunette.

Akaashi stepped out as well on the other side of the car, and helped an ill Tsukishima do so as well. "We're going to walk around a little, he needs some air."

The only one left in the car was Nishinoya, who refused to move from his spot. Daichi stopped checking Suga's face and turned him around, frowning at the sight of a few dots of blood around the slits in the back of his hoodie. "Daichi," Said Suga, chewing his lip. "I don't think I can pull them back in. It feels tight." He complained. Daichi lifted up the hoodie and then the shirt, holding them up so he could get a look at Suga's back. He frowned.

"Hey, Kou? I don't think you can either." There was a bit of blood from forcing the wings out, and the slits had torn a bit, but there was definitely no pulling them back in. "They're closing up."  
Suga knew exactly what that meant. They all needed to push their wings out, because if the slits healed with their wings inside, that would be very, very bad.

A groan came from near Asahi and Tanaka. "Uh, guys?" Tanaka called to them, and they glanced over to see Asahi on his knees in front of a puddle of vomit, his wings apparently forcing themselves out. In seconds, all of their wings were out and visible, and it pooled dread in Suga's stomach watching it all happen.

"Hey, look at me." Daichi coaxed, and turned his love's face back to him. Suga sighed softly, and let Daichi cup his cheeks, leaning into his touch. It was so warm, so careful, so afraid of hurting anyone. They gazed at each other for a moment, and Suga knew that Daichi was relieve to be holding him in his arms.

"FREEZE! RIGHT NOW, HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEADS, ON YOUR KNEES! RIGHT NOW, OR I'LL FUCKING SHOOT!"

The two jumped, and in an instant, Daichi stepped around Suga and held out an arm to protect him. Rather than looking at the cop that was pointing his gun between his eyes, Daichi's eyes found Tanaka and Asahi a short distance away, holding up their arms as they were told, practically pressed side by side. Their feathers, they were ruffled, and their wings raising reflexively.

_In fear._

There were police cars coming in all around them, impossibly, it seemed, but more impossibly, they were all doing so quietly, _making sure_ they didn't draw any attention from the public. Daichi found that strange, but he was snapped out of his thoughts when the gun was slammed agonizingly hard against his temple, and the back of his head was grabbed, before he was squished roughly against the freezing side of the car.

Suga suffered the same fate. When their gazes met, hearts thudding painfully fast in the chests, Suga's eyes turned glassy, either from the cold or from fear. Perhaps both, Daichi didn't know.  
Out the corner of his eye, he could see a subtle blue glow in the car, and realized quickly that it was Nishinoya, frozen. Watching. As if on cue, the door on the other side of the car opened, and Nishinoya started to struggle, crying out before Daichi could hear a hard blow, and Nishinoya's soft, pained whimpers.

"HEY! YOU KEEP YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF HIM!" He heard Suga scream, before grunting as the gun was pressed to the back of his head.

"Get that gun away from his head, or I swear to God I will fucking- AGH!" Daichi cried out as a gun came into contact with the back of his own head. The officers let him sink to the ground, holding the back of his head as a pounding, searing pain spread all through his head.

"Daichi!" Suga cried, and over it, said male could hear Tanaka and Asahi shouting for Nishinoya. Daichi couldn't hear a response. As far as he knew, there were two officers with himself and Suga, two holding Asahi and Tanaka at gunpoint, plus the one that dragged Noya out of the car.

That was five. Oh God, Tsukishima and Akaashi, where were they? He didn't hear their voices, and they couldn't have possibly gone far enough not to be found. They were walking targets as the rest of them.

On the other side of the SUV, Nishinoya was in a daze on the ground, eyes gone back to their brown, and blood trickling down his forehead. The world spun and his hearing faded in and out of focus. Everything shot back at him when the cop standing over him wrapped his hand around the stem of his right wing and lifted, pulling him.

"AGH- ST-STOP! STOP, STOP IT!" He screamed out, trying to reached back behind his back. Tanaka and Asahi, who were being ushered to stand, were watching. Asahi was the first to break free, sprinting over and throwing a hard punch to the man's face, his free arm hooking under Nishinoya's stomach when he was dropped. Tanaka was quick to follow, turning sharply, hands quickly turning to the hard steel that they had when he beat Shin's face in. He punched both officers one after the other, and met Asahi on the other side of the car.

"You touch him again, I'll tear your fucking head off!" He threatened, wings spreading out and arms doing the same in an effort to shield Asahi and Noya. The officer, whose gun was now shaking in his hand, gazed up at the large black masses on either side of Tanaka, and he started to retreat backward. "Fuck...what- what the fuck are you?"

"The fuck are you doing?! SHOOT HIM!" The officer behind Daichi shouted, and as soon as he was distracted, Daichi pulled his elbow forward and jammed it backward as hard as he could, colliding with the man's knee and making it bend back in the way it wasn't supposed to, a loud crack sounding through the air as it broke. The cop screamed in pure agony, and Daichi shot up and spun on his heel, grabbing the man by the throat and turning back to shove his head through the back window that he was previously pressed against.

Suga took the opportunity to turn on the officer behind him, starting by knocking his gun out of his hand.

Tanaka was about to attack their officer, when a grayish-black blur swept by, and took the man into the air, where he screamed and his gun clattered to the ground. His screamed echoed into the open air of the sky, and the boys below watched until they could hardly be seen. Then the man was falling, falling faster than he had been flown up. His screams were bloodcurdling now, full of so much terror that it would be hard to listen to if he hadn't hurt Noya.

As he came hurling down back to the Earth, the blur came by fast again, taking the officers who'd attacked Asahi and Tanaka, holding them by the backs of their shirts and throwing them on top of the small building, where they could be heard crashing through the roof.

"H-Holy shit! Keep it up, man!" Tanaka called, and as Akaashi glided above them with his large gray wings, the officer hit the ground with a brutal thud, a sickening squelch laced throughout it. His blood spattered, and Tanaka flinched as it sprayed over his face, wings raising with his hands when he flinched.

Daichi had let go of the man's throat, and tackled the officer fighting Suga against the building, slamming his head against it over and over, until his blood started to stain the wall. Daichi could only see red, filled with adrenaline and rage. He could hardly breathe, each breath coming out in rough growls, wings raised and feathers ruffling with his anger. He just kept going. He kept bashing the officer's head against the wall, bashing and bashing and bashing.

"Daichi!" Arms wrapped around him and pulled him away, despite Daichi's thrashing about, he relented as ease slowly started to fill him. He felt Suga's face bury into the nape of his neck, and press a gentle kiss there. "You got him. We're okay. You got him, Daichi." He whispered, and Daichi could feel him trembling. He turned around and enveloped Suga in his arms, curling the fingers of one hand through his hair.

He was still alive, still intact. Letting go of one hand, they rounded the car quickly to see Akaashi landing and blowing the wind about. As soon as his feet graced the ground, he retreated off around a building farther ahead, parallel to theirs, and briefly disappeared from sight.

"Are you all alright?" Daichi called, coming up on the other three. Tanaka stiffly turned to face them.

Tanaka managed an unintelligible reply as Suga checked his skin for bruises. Tanaka grimaced and closed his mouth, swirling around his saliva before spitting off to the side. "It got in my mouth..."

"Daichi...?" Asahi practically whispered. It was soft, practically a hiss that Daichi probably shouldn't have been able to hear. Asahi was holding the small Nishinoya bridal style, Noya's head and limbs hanging limply. Trembling, Asahi looked up to meet Daichi's eyes with his own teary ones. "Something's wrong with Noya." He croaked, and he looked down again, for Noya had not moved since Asahi saved him.

His head tilted so far back that the blood from his head injuries had soaked into his hair, blending with his natural scent. It dripped onto the ground, having started to puddle.

"Oh, no." Suga gasped, halting his movements of helping Tanaka wipe blood off of his face.

"Hey, Yuu?" Tanaka whispered, a look so horrified on his face that it was unbelievable he still looked anything like his age.

Asahi's legs felt weak, he could hardly stand. But he dare not let himself fall and cause his friend more pain than he deserved. Noya's body still felt warm, but these injuries, they were bleeding too much. Asahi had watched the officer him with the gun. There hadn't been a shred of mercy in his eyes. Asahi didn't understand. Had it been fear that made the police officers so cruel? Or did they know something that they shouldn't have, and that was why they hardly panicked as much as they should have.

He didn't know, and right now, he didn't give a damn.

Noya had started going pale- not as pale as Tsukishima, who was coming into sight with Akaashi, who had hidden them away as soon as the cars pulled in.

Asahi's breaths were shuddering now, tears blurring his vision. "What- What do we- What do we _do_?"

Daichi could hear his own heartbeat in his ears, pounding alongside the agonizing headache he was suffering after those two blows from earlier. The world was spinning, he felt numb from the cold and yet so hot with pain. Daichi wanted to say something, to be the voice of reason that they all needed, but how could he do that when the ground was rushing at him faster than he could stop it?

_"Daichi?"_

_"Oh, shit- I got him, I got him!"_

_"Daichi, wake up! Daichi, PLEASE!"_

_"There are more coming, we have to go. I can drive."_

_"Yes, please. Thank you. Tanaka, help me get him in the car. Asahi, Kei, get in."_

The last thing Daichi heard was the distant sirens of police cars.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING- CONTAINS MENTIONS OF RAPE, SLIGHTLY EXPLICIT!!!!!!!

[DAY 5, AFTERNOON, THE HOSPITAL WARD]

"This is it, right?" Asked Hinata, handing the sketchbook over to Yamaguchi. The freckled boy grinned and nodded, sat comfortably in the wheelchair provided for transportation. His wings were maneuvered through the hole between the seat and the back support.

"Mmhm. This is it, thank you." He said, opening the book as Hinata walked behind him and took the handles on the back of the chair.

On the exit doors on the other side of the room, Kuroo and Bokuto waited for them, Bokuto also sitting in a wheelchair that Kuroo was ready to push. Yamaguchi turned to look back at Hinata as they started to roll across the floor. "Am I too heavy?"

"Nope. You're actually super light, way lighter than I thought you'd be. It's easy to push you." Hinata replied, and was stricken with the brief image of his reuniting with the group after his coma. Or Yamaguchi rather, and how thin he'd felt when Hinata hugged him. His weight hadn't exactly changed.

Once caught up with the other two, they pushed out of the doors and went down the hallways side by side.

Bokuto sighed, reaching his arms for a stretch and nearly punching Kuroo in the chin. "Hey, watch it."

"Man, I thought I was gonna die if I stayed in there any longer. Where are we going again?"

"The Rec room," Replied Kuroo. "To relax, I guess. Being around other people doesn't sound relaxing to me, but you know the rules. Whatever they say goes."

Bokuto hummed and leaned back, before glancing to the side to see what Yamaguchi was drawing. He was touching up a pair of eyes, and Bokuto's jaw dropped, for it was the most realistic drawing he had ever seen in person. Much more mesmerizing than pictures of drawings on the internet.

Unbeknownst to the concentrated Yamaguchi, all three of his companions were watching him draw, captivated by how easily it came to him, like second nature to draw so well. For Hinata, it was nice to see him forget that they were in such an awful place, and lose himself in his art.

"Hey Freckles," Called Kuroo, and the freckled boy hummed. "How the hell'd you get so good? I can barely draw a straight line."

Yamaguchi laughed as that, and set down his white eraser stained dark on the round edges with graphite. He gazed down at his drawing, and he felt a tug of longing in his chest. He wished to gaze into their actual golden brown rather than this stark gray. "Practice. I know that's what everyone tells you, but it's true. Frustrating, but true. And worth it in the end if you really like to draw." He said softly, and brushed his fingers across the page, just underneath the detailed eyes of Tsukishima Kei.

"Back at the hotel we stayed in, there were some nights when I couldn't sleep. Kei, he...sorta doesn't sleep much if I don't. If he was awake, he would watch me lie there."

_'In a silent communication way. We can feel each other being alive, isn't that something?'_ Yamaguchi wanted to say, but it wasn't worth the risk freaking them out. Those in the Murder understood without words, but Bokuto and Kuroo weren't like them. They weren't there for an entire year.

"I started drawing him. A lot, whether he was awake or asleep. Not just his eyes. His hands," Yamaguchi flipped through a few pages back to a sketch of hands in different positions.

"His body, and his face. All of him." Yamaguchi hesitated, but flipped to a page that he'd held completely dear to himself. Only Tsukishima used to look at it art back before they were taken, but back then, Yamaguchi wasn't nearly as good as he was now. On this page, it was indeed Tsukishima, as if he'd been transferred onto the paper, sleeping in the most graceful beauty that Yamaguchi somehow managed to capture. No one spoke for a moment, studying the image in awe and complete disbelief. Yamaguchi was smiling, running his fingers over Tsukishima's blank cheek carefully as if the picture were actually him.

Kuroo whistled. "I've got chills."

"Right?! Holy crap, dude, that's awesome!" Bokuto beamed, and Yamaguchi flushed at their praise, shaking his head and looking down to the image he'd so flawlessly drawn. He could find a few small flaws, mostly in the way the blanket was drawn, but he was overall proud of what he'd drawn. After all, he hadn't been anywhere near Tsukishima when he drew it.  
"I-It's not that great..."

"Are you kidding?! I wish I could draw like you without having to look! I'd draw Keiji in every way I can imagine." Bokuto grinned and looked up to the ceiling. "Even naked, I've got no regrets! I'd put all the pictures on my walls at home so I could look at him when he's not there. Keiji thinks that's pretty creepy, though...he says two pictures would be too many."

Kuroo flicked Bokuto in the back of his head, earning a hiss from the owl-winged boy. "That _is_ creepy."

"But it's in the name of love! I'll get a portrait painted or something one day, you'll see! It'll be as big as the wall, and I'm gonna look at it every morning."

"Jesus Christ, are you going to masturbate to it, too?"

"...Well, if desperate times call for desperate measures..." Bokuto smirked, and all of them laughed at that one.

"You're nuts if you think he's gonna stay with you if you do that. Yamaguchi could probably draw him better than you ever could."

Bokuto seemed to think, feathers ruffling as he perked up. "You're right! Hey Yamaguchi, do you think you could draw ME?" He asked, pointing to himself. Yamaguchi studied him for a moment, and his features, calculating how small to make the lines for the paper transfer, and how dark to shade, where to shade and what to leave blank. He smiled. "Sure. We can do it in the Rec room, if you want." He said, and Bokuto grinned in excitement.

Hinata's smile lingered, for it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't understand how they stayed so positive in the worst of situations. Look where they are! How was it even possible that they could still make each other laugh, let alone _smile_ in a hellish place like this? Hellish. That was a good word. Hinata thought back to watching Kenma be put to sleep. It didn't feel like he was being put to sleep.

"Hey," he interrupted, averting his gaze to the far end of the hall and the corner they were going to round. "Did they bring back Kenma yet?"

The air gradually calmed, and Kuroo sighed, turning Bokuto so they could round the corner. They passed a couple doctors on the way, and they were guiding a younger girl, who looked like she had just been through literal hell, covered in cuts and bruises, trembling. She must had been on her way to the Hospital Ward.

"Yeah, they brought him back last night. Poor guy's so...traumatized. He's not even talking." He said, and his gaze fell to the ground in front of them. Hinata frowned, but he did understand. Still, something wasn't sitting right. "Why didn't Kenma want to sleep?" He asked. "When they put him down the other day, he was fighting."

Kuroo shrugged. "Nightmares. He has a lot of them nowadays." The feline male gripped the handles on the back of the wheelchair and while they didn't bend under his vice-like grip, if he squeezed them any tighter they may just break. "All because of that piece of shit!"

"Kuroo," Bokuto warned, glancing back at him. "Breathe, man. Don't freak out on us right now."

"Don't tell me not to freak out! If I could just get him alone, I could-"

"You realize what they would do to you, right? It'll be worse than what they did last time."

As much as Kuroo wanted to argue, he knew Bokuto was right. Sighing, he looked over to Hinata and Yamaguchi, who had been watching in confusion.

"There's a doctor here, some bullshit specialist that these freaks hired to "help" the ones who took the transition here harder than the rest. He's no fucking specialist. He's just a creep. A sick piece of shit that deserves to die."

Hinata started to feel sick to his stomach as Kuroo went on with his explanation. Katsumata's voice reminded Hinata in his mind, _"Be glad that I've decided to take on your examination."_

"Has...has Kenma tried to say something?" Hinata asked closely, head lowered as they walked. Kuroo shook his head. "These people don't care about things like rape, no matter who it is. We're just _things_ for them to manipulate however they fucking want. God, he's so lucky I can't get my hands on him. I'd rip his fucking tongue out!" Kuroo hissed.

Hinata's heart sank hearing what was happening to Kenma, who he still considered his friend. The ginger glanced down at Yamaguchi, who had gone quiet, no longer working on the sketch of Tsukishima's eyes. He seemed to be listening, but Hinata couldn't tell. Then came his soft voice asking softer than the voice of a child, "How long?"

All eyes went to him now, and he was digging his nails into his eraser.

"Since we got here. That's a year, I think."

Yamaguchi didn't respond then, and Kuroo continued. "I bit a chunk out of his neck once. They made a mistake letting me see him for an appointment after I "showed aggression". I could see it on his smug fucking face. He asked me some questions about the others, but then he was just asking about Kenma, and I snapped. He just barely turned so I missed his throat, but that's what I was going for." Kuroo glared at the ground, and shook his head.

"I'm going to kill him. I can't take it anymore, it's killing Kenma."

The rest of the walk was in silence as the group processed everything they'd spoken about. It wasn't a pleasant silence, but the air gradually seemed to calm alarmingly fast, and Hinata figured that it could have been their patience. Kuroo seemed to come down particularly quickly from his anger, and while Hinata hated it at first, he had to consider that for an entire year, Kuroo had to sit and do nothing. How must that have felt? He certainly didn't know. Hinata looked at Kuroo and he knew he had to have been impatient and patient at the same time.

What else could he do but wait? He knew he was going to get his chance, but that didn't mean he didn't hate waiting. The longer he had to wait, the longer Kenma had to suffer. And that infuriated Hinata so much that he started to think as he pushed Yamaguchi toward the Rec room.

As they reached the room, the guard beside it used his key card to open it so they could go in. Hinata recognized the room from when they first arrived. He'd only been in once after his examination, when he was reunited with Kageyama and Yamaguchi. It was a large square room, much larger than the Nest, and lining the two side walls were bookshelves. The left wall contained childrens' books, and the right wall novels and other sorts not meant for the minds of little ones.

There were bean bag chairs and a couch along the back wall, a few tables scattered about close to the sides of the room, and some supplies on shelves bolted to the wall door for art and such. Stuffed toys littered the left corner where a few small children were currently playing- or they were, anyway. They had stopped upon seeing the four of them enter. A voice from behind the boys called out, "Hold on! W10, stop!" It was a female doctor, and Hinata stopped as he was told, turning around to face her.

"Dr. Katsumata is requesting your presence in the Hospital Ward." She said simply, and Hinata's eyes furrowed in confusion. "B-But I-"

"There is no room for debate. Make this easy for me." She said, and her eyes were simply unamused.

Hinata glanced back at Yamaguchi, and Kuroo grinned.

"Hey, we'll keep an eye on him. Go on." He said, waving his hand for Hinata to go. The ginger was hesitant, but he trusted them enough, for what could really go so wrong in the Rec room of all places? With that, Hinata put a hand on the dazed Yamaguchi's shoulder, getting his attention. "I'll see you soon," He smiled, but even Yamaguchi could tell that he was uneasy. Still, he smiled back. "Soon."

The doctor escorted Hinata out of the room, and for a few minutes after, Yamaguchi's eyes remained on the door as he zoned out. Thankfully, he hadn't been going catatonic as much, and it was quite nice to be completely there. A tug on his feathers brought the freckled boy out of his small trance, and he turned to his side to look, only to tilt his head down to see one of the small children gazing up in fascination at his wings.

She was a tiny thing, small with black-hair shaved close to her head, growing from what looked to be a former buzz-cut. They'd definitely be trimming it down soon. He glanced over to Kuroo and Bokuto who were a short distance away, Kuroo having plopped himself down on the couch while he and Bokuto went on about who knows what. To the left of the couch were the children who couldn't have been more than five years old, crawling off to the side away from Kuroo and Bokuto, seemingly frightened by them.

That was understandable. Kuroo had a habit now more than ever of looking like he could eat you- those fangs didn't help his case. Bokuto, well, he was Bokuto. Big and loud, and energetic, and those humongous wings on his back only intensified his image. Even though he was in a wheelchair.  
That all being true, Yamaguchi didn't understand why the child came to him, the one in the wheelchair who could hardly even stand because of a weak body. Surely if he stood up somehow, she would cower away in fear.

"Hi..." Yamaguchi greeted gently, folding the book in his lap closed. He was speechless with confusion, with not a single idea of what to say. How long had it been since he'd actually spoken to a young child? He'd never spoken to one here in the Facility, were they the same as the ones on the outside?

...That question...it felt awful just thinking. Were they the same. Of course they weren't, whether they grew up here or not. He wasn't the same as those on the outside, and he hadn't even grown up here. So what could that say for a child who looked like she never held a light in her eyes?

"What are you?" She asked him, and he made a point of hunching to not appear threatening. "Are you a birdie? Like this one?" Her right hand, the one that wasn't attached to his wing, raised and revealed a picture book. It was a book about birds, all the different sorts and species. She rested it open on the arm of the wheelchair, and let go of his feather to point to a black bird in the R section. A _raven_.

So she was curious about him? Yamaguchi couldn't help being a bit flattered, for he was never one to hold anyone's interest so endearingly. Except Tsukishima's of course.

He shook his head. "Find C." He told her gently, and held one end of the book so she could flip the pages without it slipping off the wheelchair arm. Yamaguchi, immersed in fascination for the small child, had no idea that the Reptilian boys on the other side of the room were watching him intently.

The small girl scanned the first few C pages, and he pointed. "A crow. Like this." He said, and she studied the small section about the crow, she looked to his visible wing and reached out to touch it. "How come you're in a wheelchair?" She asked, looking up at him with large, innocent eyes.

Yamaguchi was still looking at the book. That's what he was, wasn't it? A crow? Hardly even human anymore. "I'm sick."

"Why?"

"I don't know. they gave me something that didn't make me feel very good. Do you know that? When the doctors give you something and it makes you feel...icky?" Yamaguchi replied, and his eyelids lowered in sadness at the very thought of Kei, eyes remaining on the small girl.

She nodded, and it sent a pang of agony through his chest at her nonchalant demeanor. Meanwhile, he was feeling such sorrow over his memories. He briefly wondered what brought her sorrow if not the awful experimentation and alterations of merciless adults.

He still wondered why they were all here-

"Will you read with me?"

Yamaguchi snapped back into reality, studying the child's face. After a glance back at the preoccupied Bokuto, Yamaguchi nodded slowly, and helped her into his lap even with his weak arms.

"I wanna show you my favorite birdie, it's this one," The girl said as she started to flip through pages.

"Oh, yeah? I'd love to see."

Unbeknownst to them, Kuroo was eyeing Yamaguchi's friendliness toward the little girl. He shook his head, for he wasn't surprised. Freckles always seemed like the friendly type, even to people he didn't know. He didn't get how it was possible even after all the shit they'd been through. What had Freckles been through exactly? Other than those wings growing out of his back, Kuroo knew nothing about them except that they'd been here an entire year just as the rest of them had.

Hinata had only explained minor details, nothing about how their time here was spent. And even so, you could see in their eyes that their light was dying. If it wasn't already dead.

A harsh whisper caught the boy's ears and his left ear twitched, swiveling to the left to listen to the conversation of the reptilian group sitting in the corner. Kuroo had noticed them when they walked in, the way their fierce yellow eyes rolled over all four of them, and when their gazes stuck to Yamaguchi like they did now.

"That other one's not with him now. But those two..."

"They're big..."

"So what, and we're not? There's more of us and one's in a wheelchair. I think we can take them."

"Yeah, that one with glasses isn't here to freak out on us."

_'Oh, that's bad. I don't like that. Wait, what're you doing? Stop getting up, stop walking over there-'_ Kuroo thought, as his legs forced him to arise. Before he knew it, he was walking over, taking heavy steps over that pounded against the carpet floor.

Bokuto's voice trailed off as he left, and leaned over toward Yamaguchi, nudging him. Yamaguchi looked up at him first, and when Bokuto nodded over to where Kuroo was going, the freckled boy lost a bit of color in his face. He recognized them. He recognized them very well, especially the one who was wearing the eye patch. Yamaguchi remembered watching Tsukishima lash out unlike ever before. He couldn't describe in his own words how it looked, or how the reptilian shrieked and kicked under Tsukishima's weight. The blood.

The reptilians stopped talking when Kuroo approached them. The feline boy's tail did not sway, and his cat-like grin was nowhere to be found. Instead, he held a dark aura around him, a feeling, an atmosphere around himself that made it clear to others that they needed to stay away, for he wasn't going to play any games.

"You got something you wanna say, you can say it to me." He said, and Yamaguchi thought him brave, but wreckless. His stomach dropped when the one with the eye patch stood and nearly rivaled Kuroo in height. The other repilians rose from their seats.

"Sorry, you say something?" Eye Patch mocked, eyebrows furrowed. Kuroo didn't falter, though he shuddered when the other male's tongue flickered out between his lips.

"Yeah. Keep your distance." The reptiles all looked at Yamaguchi then, clearly understanding what was being talked about. Eye Patch grinned and raised his hands.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. There's no problem here. You can go on back to your little group now." He said. "Just that we're old friends of Freckles over there." He nodded to Yamaguchi, who swiftly averted his gaze. He could feel it, their eyes on him. It felt like he was going to be torn apart just by their intense gazes.

Kuroo scoffed, a snarl forming as he looked them over. Yamaguchi never thought he'd see him get irritated so quickly, let alone over him. He couldn't possibly be worth it.

"Step the fuck back, or I'll-"

"Listen." The reptilian lightly shoved Kuroo back, but he barely moved, and that made Yamaguchi's heart jump after having seen Nishinoya be thrown so easily by their strength. Even though Nishinoya was on the lighter side, he'd been thrown like a _ragdoll_. Kuroo didn't move. "You ain't got nothin' to be freaking out about. We'll keep our distance" He said, and he wore that stupid grin again that he did before his eye was stabbed out.

Kuroo was reluctant, but after a moment he stepped backward, and turned to return to his seat.

"'Course, if that little quiet one was with you, I can't promise I'd keep my hands to myself."

Kuroo froze. The room was dead silent as if everyone stopped breathing.

"You know who I'm talking about, right? The one with the bit of yellow at the end of his tail? He's cute, right? Dr. Ayaki thinks so. You won't BELIEVE what I caught him doing with him the other day."

Yamaguchi looked at Bokuto, and the older male was staring at Kuroo, completely speechless and trying to stand. "Kuroo! Don't listen to him, he's full of shit!"

Eye Patch crossed his arms. "You think you're ready to fight someone? You can't even get near _that_ guy. And you know, we worked something out, me and him." Yamaguchi's eyes followed his hand down to his own crotch, and he felt sick to his stomach.

"Said if I didn't say nothin', I could get in on what he had going. And you better believe I did. And it was good. He was real good for me, you know? Didn't even put up a fight. Looked good with that collar around his neck."

The child in Yamaguchi's lap looked up at him, and he shook his head. She was clearly confused, but that was the least of Yamaguchi's concerns. Right now, Kuroo's eyes were fixed on the floor, wide, gaze and body trembling with every breath he took. Rage. That's what it was. Pure rage and nothing else. His ears were still, and his tail hanging stiffly behind him.

"He's a sweet thing, sucked me off before I got my turn fucking his brains out-"

In a split second, Kuroo whirled around; the room collectively blinked and he was on the reptile boy, a snarl unlike anything Yamaguchi had ever heard leaving his throat.

"Kuroo, wait!" Bokuto shouted, his call falling upon deaf ears. Yamaguchi nodded and chimed in. "He wants you to fight him! Stop!" He tried to say. He could feel his feathers ruffling up, exposing them to the cool air of the room.

Kuroo slashed his nails at the boy's face, creating four deep red claw marks across his cheek that shimmered in the light. The other growled in pain, and struggled to throw Kuroo off, managing to send him across the room where he nearly crashed against Yamaguchi's wheelchair. The children shrieked as his back made a crater in the wall, but Yamaguchi was silent, astonished as Kuroo came off the wall and landed on all fours, back arched and fangs bared.

What in God's name had they created?

Eye Patch hissed, touching his face injury with a scowl of pain on his face. "Fuck! He tore into my fucking mouth!" He hunched his back and spit, blood pouring onto the floor from his open mouth and making all the children cower in the corner with their toys, far away from the fight.

It wasn't just Kuroo's strength that scared Yamaguchi, but it was his eyes as he stayed on all fours. They were feral. Yamaguchi thought for a moment that he had grown fur out the corner of his eye and his heart jumped, only to find that it was Kuroo's bristled up tail fur. The limb lashed back and forth wildly, his slashed eyes watching them, gauging their movements for urge to attack him back. He had taken a stance that screamed, '_ANIMAL, BEAST_.'

"Kuroo!" Bokuto was calling desperately, and his attempts to stand were prevented by his body's weakness. "Shit! You've gotta stop while you still can!" Yamaguchi had a feeling he knew what that meant, for he could see it even when Kuroo smiled, that there was something boiling, festering inside him.

Kuroo's eyes were locked onto the reptilians and they knew it. Eye Patch blinked, and his yellow eyes set on Kuroo. His skin began to change, raising into scales as his shoulders seemed to lift, back hunching higher and his body lowering onto all fours.

A low growl erupted from somewhere within Kuroo, his nails that had grown longer into rounded and pointed sharpness looked like they could cut flesh like butter.

And they had.

Yamaguchi gently pushed the child out of his lap. "Go into the corner, get as far in as you can." He told her, and she did as she was told. He watched from the side with Bokuto, but unlike the owl boy, he wasn't entirely helpless. Weak, yes. Helpless, no. Still, if Yamaguchi didn't work up his strength, he would never be able to help stop the fight.

Kuroo in his burning red rage made the first move, lunging high, fast at the reptilian, who looked like an anthropomorphic lizard rather than a boy who became one.

They attacked, scratching, growling, snarling at each other like they were nothing but wild animals. And maybe they were now. More often than not, Kuroo was thrown with ease across the room, smacking into shelves and into tables, and nearly into Bokuto and Yamaguchi.

All the while, the children bawled, and it felt like the world outside this door was nothing short of non-existent. In here was the wild, the cruel, the merciless even more than beyond the door.

This world right here in this room became a blur of hatred, of blood, black and green and red. At some point, Kuroo was nearly pinned under Eye Patch, when he had both feet flush against his chest and kicked him, making Eye Patch flip upside down and land on his back.

At another, Eye Patch grabbed Kuroo by his tail and dragged him through the air, slamming him down on the ground. Contrary to first glance, they appeared to be an even match for each other. Until a bit later.

Eye Patch was holding Kuroo up by his throat, against the wall so his feet didn't touch the floor. The feline boy choked, holding onto the other's wrist, and kicking. Eye Patch, with his free hand, dug his claws into Kuroo's chest, dragging them down slowly and watching with his battered face as Kuroo's contorted in one of agony.

But he did not scream.

Kuroo raised his feet to press against his chest as he'd done before, and shoved with all his strength, making Eye Patch stumble back and over a table. Kuroo leapt over the table and onto his chest, grabbing his head and kneeing him in the face three full times before straddling him.

When he leaned down and Eye Patch let out a gut-wrenching scream, Yamaguchi's eyes widened in pure horror.

Blood spurted out from Eye Patch's throat, and he kicked, gagging and retching as Kuroo sank his teeth into his throat. Kuroo still growled, and when it seemed like Eye Patch may be able to throat him off, he took his left hand and shove the male's chin upward, and bit down harder, harder, harder ignoring the screams around him and the choking of the reptilian boy. The crunch was purely sickening for Yamaguchi to listen to, and he almost found himself covering his ears.

"J-Jesus Christ, he's killing him! HE'S-HE'S FUCKING KILLING HIM!"

Kuroo crushed his throat until his own jaws met each other, and he reared back, tearing the boy's throat out and slashing blood all over the other reptilians, who had been stiff with fear. Eye Patch's body thrashed about and writhed underneath him, hands reaching up to grab at his throat- or what was left of it.

Kuroo spitch the chunk of his throat out at the feet of the other reptilians, and stood slowly to his feet, wobbling slightly.

Yamaguchi, in all his paralyzed fright, just barely realized that Kuroo had a black eye, his clothing was ripped and stained red by both his and the other boy's blood, he had scratches on his face, and bruises that one could see through some of the non-bloodied tears in his shirt.

The reptilians had pressed themselves against each other and against the wall, stiff as boards as their gazes flickered between the dead body and its killer. Kuroo faced them when he stood.

Eye Patch was no longer moving, but limp in his own blood which had soaked into the carpet. Kuroo shuffled around to face Bokuto and Yamaguchi, eyes losing their brutality little by little.

The beep sounded off, the door burst open. Kuroo raised his arms, getting on his knees and soaking his shins in crimson as he surrendered. Guards rushed in faster than eyes could track, as if they appeared in an instant.

They waited, Yamaguchi realized, as they took Kuroo by his arms. They waited until it was over, watching. Why, he didn't know. But he wasn't surprised.

The children, horrified, sprinted for the door, practically stampeding over each other to get out at their first chance. Their cries echoed down the halls, as did the patters of their feet.

Kuroo was restrained, cuffed behind his back, before a syringe was uncapped and pushed into the left side of his neck.

Bokuto and Yamaguchi sat stunned in their wheelchairs. Yamaguchi, who felt like he was about to vomit, gazed at Kuroo. Blood covered the boy's mouth, dripped from his chin.  
Yamaguchi was absolutely speechless, watching as his eyes lost focus and his head started to loll, before he was hoisted over a guard's shoulder and carried out of the room.

Bokuto and Yamaguchi were briefly left with the reptilian boys and the body in the center of the room. Yamaguchi realized that his own body was trembling as he slowly turned to look at Bokuto, whose own hopeless, distraught eyes were glued to the spot where Kuroo had been, before they met Yamaguchi's.

Neither of them spoke a word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was ow writing. Mega ow.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I knew it, this was was extremely long?? Oh well. Enjoy!

[DAY 5, AFTERNOON]

Kuroo's body jolted under the impact of the whip. The hot pain spread over his back, it felt like his skin was sliding off with it. His throat felt raw with his muffled screams.

The whip hit him again.

** _CRACK!_ **

Again.

** _CRACK!_ **

Again.

** _CRACK!_ **

How many times had it been? He never heard a number, and he lost count five hits ago.

When he came to from his sedation, he was in the Closet. He was clean and his wounds from the fight were tended to. His tongue tasted heavily of blood, and he was sure there was a piece of flesh between his teeth. He had no idea how long he had been out, but he figured an hour or so by the way his injuries still burned, especially his chest. He wasn't in for long before two guards came in and grabbed him by his arms. They escorted him out, not saying a word to him, as if afraid to provoke him like they usually did. That was when they came into this room. His shirt was removed and his hands were cuffed around a wide metal pole extending from the floor into the ceiling. A muzzle was forced onto him then, he wasn't allowed to scream. Without even speaking to him, they began.

The first hit didn't hurt the most. It was a shock, but it wasn't nearly as painful as the ones to follow. Kuroo could feel his skin breaking, the blood pouring down his back as if he'd been stabbed deeply. His head smacked against the pole now, his shoulders flinching, back arching every time the whip cracked against his skin.

Now he knew how Tora felt. Yamamoto spent more time getting punished than anyone else in the Den, where Kuroo and the rest of the felines resided. Kuroo had seen those awful scars all over Yamamoto's skin. The ones on his back were both from fights and from being whipped, which he only endured as a result of the violent fights. They were always so horrid to look at.

Now, Kuroo, sweating and light-headed, wondered what his back looked like. Flushed, he imagined. Bloodied, ripped even with the trail of black fur running up his spine from his tail to the base of his head connected to his hair. He was trembling, and he released another muffled cry when the whip hit him once more. He sat there shaking, hunched against the cold pole and waiting for the next burn of impact. But it didn't come.

Was it over? Was it finally over? He didn't get his hopes up, and stayed stiff just in case it wasn't over yet. Still, his body started to slump against the pole with his budding exhaustion seeming to swallow him almost completely. He took shallow breaths, and his eyes leaked tears that he couldn't draw back in. His features twitched, his throat was tight, he couldn't breathe.

He jumped at the sound of the whip hitting the ground off to the side, unable to stifle another whimper and the whimpers to follow. The pops of cracking knuckles echoed through the small square room.

He heard a scoff. "You've got a lot of nerve having your tail between your legs after what you did. Stand up."

Kuroo felt a tug of shame in his stomach, for his tail was indeed tucked between his legs. He wanted to defend himself, say it was natural after he'd just been beaten like a stray dog. He stood up, legs shaking until he was able to lean the right side of his chest on the pole for support. Its cool temperature was at least the tiniest bit soothing.

One of the two guards came around and un-cuffed his hands from around the pole, and Kuroo, though dazed, tried his best to keep up as he was dragged out of the room on weak legs. He stepped in his own blood along the way, tracking it across the floor.

Getting each of the lashes cleaned in the Infirmary, Kuroo counted ten. Ten burning, bleeding lashes carved deep into the flesh of his back. He wasn't sure if getting them disinfected was more agonizing than getting the injuries themselves. Either way, he felt like he was losing consciousness, crying muffled cries every time alcohol touched his skin.

He was shoved back in the Closet afterward.

_*_*_*_

He'd been thrown in here a while ago, he didn't know how long it had been, but he could think of nothing but the way the other boy's blood tasted in his mouth.  
It wasn't as horrible as he'd imagined. The taste of having killed someone with your own teeth...the satisfying crunch of his bones, the gurgles of his attempts to breathe, his futile struggles while you pinned him down with your own body weight.

Why did it make his heart race and pound with excitement? In the pitch blackness of the closet, Kuroo curled himself into the corner, gazing down at his hands. They were shaking. His jaw was clenched and his teeth felt tight, and running his tongue over them he could feel the bits of skin and flesh caught between them. He unconsciously tried to suck them out, all while his gaze darted all over the tiny dark room. The muzzle was uncomfortable, and he got to work on trying to take it off. The series of clips and belts in the back were more elaborate than he thought.

He'd actually killed someone. Because of anger. How did he know what he said was even true? Knowing Dr. Ayaki, it had probably been time for his next appointment, and he wasn't...finished yet. Kuroo suddenly felt nauseous, hot like the room was closing in on him. Would he have been in such distress if he'd succeeded in killing Dr. Ayaki the first time?

If he'd successfully torn out Dr. Ayaki's throat that day, would he have felt this...sick afterwards?

Kuroo's stomach was turning. His palms were starting to sweat, and his mouth felt dry, festering with the taste of (mostly)human flesh. It went to the back of his throat, and he was sure he was about to vomit. Now fumbling over one of the sturdy belts in the back of the muzzle, he could hear the tearing of the flesh, the tight ripping of the scales, the deep snaps of bone, the rush of blood and the drops landing on the floor around them. The children's screams were deafening, maddening.

The way they all looked at him, everyone had been terrified. Their eyes, they were surrounding him even now, peeking out of the walls, blinking, twisting, cursing him. But what he did wasn't wrong, he had a good reason. Right?

** _YOU SAW THE WAY THEY LOOKED AT YOU. THEY'RE ALL SCARED NOW._ **

Kuroo, trembling, glanced around the dark room, squishing his back against the corner despite the unbearable pain that it caused him. His heart was pounding, his throat felt dry. He heard the voice once again. He wasn't even close to having the muzzle off.

** _NO ONE'S GOING TO WANT TO BE NEAR YOU. NOT BO, NOT MORISUKE, NOT KENMA._ **

Kuroo clapped his hands over his ears as a crippling pound took over his head. This was nothing new. It tended to happen when he was in isolation. The voice in his mind always spoke of things he understood, but he didn't know who the voice belonged to. It was as if madness touched him just to lie dormant later. Like the monster in the closet got a hold of him and dragged him in by his feet.

_'I did good,'_ He thought, pressing his hands tightly to his ears. The pressure was damning for his headache. _'I did good killing him. He was hurting Kenma, he was hurting us...'_

** _MAYBE YOU DID. YOU ELIMINATED THE THREAT. BUT ONLY ONE OF THEM. WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?_ **

Kuroo couldn't breathe, as all of the sensations and pain escalated. He let go of his head and hunched onto his knees, retching as he vomited violently all over the muzzle and the padded floor. He could hear it splash and he groaned, taking a breath after he finished. With the burn of bile surging up the back of his throat a second time, Kuroo let more vomit pour from his throat, coughing and gagging as his mouth burned.

His eyes watered, and the rancid taste of bile overwhelmed him. He scrambled to undo the muzzle now, and once he had, he let it drop into the puddle, where his body forced up more of the putrid vomit. Collapsing on his side just out of reach of the puddle of vomit, Kuroo wiped his mouth on his sleeve and curled in on himself, shaking, hugging his arms as if that could help with the pain and the suffocation of this damned room.

"He deserved that. They all deserve it." Kuroo murmured, and he could feel himself losing consciousness under the overbearing pain. It felt like he was burning alive, and in this moment of seemingly never-ending agony, he wanted to be in the Den, to lie in his hammock close to Yaku, and close to those he treasured. He could protect them then.

He could understand Yamamoto now. Or, how easily rage came to him, rather. And Kuroo did not regret what he did.

Because he would do it again, lashes and all.  
  


_*_*_*_

  
[LATE NIGHT, THE MURDER]

The sound of shivers and low groans were what awoke Daichi. His eyes opened quickly, alike how they did every morning in the Facility. There was no comfort. Though his vision hazy, it was clearly dark, so it must have been night. The same day? It didn't feel like it, he felt like he'd been lying here for weeks. His body was heavy and cold, and the sound of flapping cloth was close by. He was surprised that _that_ noise didn't wake him sooner.

The window, it was broken, right?

A gag and a hiss of pain dragged him abruptly from his thoughts, and he forced himself to sit up just a little too quickly, grabbing the seat in front of him for support to look over. In the seat directly in front of him, were Suga and Tsukishima. Suga's back faced him, but peering over the seat, Daichi could see that a stiff Tsukishima had his head perched on Suga's lap, facing his stomach. A dark spot was pooling under his parted lips, soaking into Suga's gray hoodie.

"Shit...! Hang on, Kei." Suga said lowly, holding the blond's head up in one arm and using his hoodie sleeve to wipe up the blood that seemed to have forced itself out of his mouth. Tsukishima looked white as a sheet in the dark, and it reminded Daichi that there was no room for anymore distractions.

"Koushi...?" Daichi whispered, and Suga jumped, turning his head around to see him.

Suga's shoulders eased, and he lowered Tsukishima's head back down, trying to give him some sort of comfort with letting his wings drape into their foot space. The blond was limp. Daichi was 100% sure he wasn't even conscious, but he didn't know if that was relieving or concerning.

At that thought, his eyes darted up and searched for Nishinoya, heart racing with panic. "How's Noya?" He asked, though his eyes were still searching as if he didn't expect an answer. Suga sighed, leaning back against the seat and reaching his right arm out, allowing his hand to gently feel for the back of Daichi's head. Daichi hadn't noticed the bandage until Suga's fingers graced the back of his head, at which he winced.

His own hand met Suga's, and they both felt around the bandage.

"You've both been out for an entire day." Suga replied, lowering his hand to Daichi's right cheek farthest away from him. "Daichi...I was so worried. I didn't think you were going to wake up, and- and Yuu hasn't even moved." Daichi touched the hand on his cheek, and turned his head to press a kiss to Suga's palm. His eyes wandered ahead, finding that he alone was in the last row, and in front of Suga the seat appeared to be empty except for Asahi on the right, whose arms were folded resting on the back part of the seat as he faced the left side of the car.

Daichi concluded that Noya was on the left side of that seat, and Asahi had been watching him before he fell asleep. In front of them Akaashi was driving and Tanaka's head lolled against the window in the passenger seat. Most of them had their wings either curled around themselves or crammed into whatever space available. Daichi's own slumped on either side of him, limp on the seat.

He briefly let Suga's cold hand leave him so he could dig into his bag in the trunk for a water bottle. After gulping down the entire thing he lowered the empty bottle with a sigh and shivered as a gust of cold wind hit him.

To his right, was of course the broken window, and it looked like a shirt big enough to be Asahi's had been possibly taped over the outside of it to keep some of the air out. He'd been out cold for a day, hell if he knew where they got tape from.

"He hasn't moved at all?" He asked. Suga shook his head, and turned forward to peer over the next seat, scanning the unconscious Nishinoya warily. The boy was visibly breathing, which was a relief.

"He's just been lying here the whole time. What if he needs a hospital and we're just sitting here oblivious to it?" Suga sighed, and leaned against his seat, pressing his hand over his eyes.

"We'll give it a little more time. I woke up."

"But what if _he_ doesn't?" Suga huffed. His shoulders were tense with stress, and for the first time in a little while, it occurred to Daichi that they didn't deserve this. If Suga's hair weren't already gray, surely it would have turned completely gray by now. His skin was pale, but not as pale as Tsukishima's, and his eyes were shadowed with the dark circles and bags around them.

"Then we take the risk and find a hospital, Koushi."

There was silence for a moment, nothing but the sound of occasionally passing cars, the wind whipping through the makeshift shirt shield, and the tires rolling across the road. Akaashi was the one to break the silence, wringing his hands on the steering wheel. "There's a motel a few miles ahead. We should stop there for the night." He suggested, and Daichi was not ashamed of the sour taste that hearing Akaashi's voice put in his mouth.

"I don't think we should stop. I can take over driving."

Suga shook his head. "You're in no position to drive."

Akaashi nodded and hummed in agreement. "It'll at least be warm, and we'll have a place to rest besides these godawful seats. We're no use to anyone if we're all sick from that window."

Daichi glanced at the sleeping giant, and the tilted head of Tanaka. Those positions were no doubt going to make them sore in the morning, and Noya and Tsukishima would be in no better shape.

_'Let it go,'_ Daichi told himself. _'He didn't know about it any more than you did. It wasn't his fault that he accidentally led Katsumata himself to you and your family, causing you to be far worse off than you would have been. Katsumata was coming to you anyway, right?'_

Daichi took a deep breath and leaned back, once again running his hand along his bandage. "Okay." He replied simply. "Take us there." Logically, Daichi was not oblivious to the fact that they needed proper rest. As Akaashi said, they were of no use to the others if they were all ill. To add icing on the cake, they needed showers.

The rest of the drive was spent in silence. Daichi watched Suga mostly, scanning the back of his neck and easily being able to tell that this trip was taking a toll on him. Or rather, the events of the trip. Daichi could sympathize, but when Suga never lifted his eyes from his lap -or Tsukishima- he wasn't sure if it was so simple as exhaustion and frustration.

Some ten or fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the mostly vacant parking lot of a decent-looking motel, one that Daichi recognized from their drive away from the Facility. They didn't stop before. The neon lights of the sign made him squint. "I got it." He said, and got the money they had left so he could go into the small front office and pay for a room.

The air was icy and brutal, not to mention windy, and it felt like it blew right through him as he exited the office with a key in his hand. He waved to the car and started toward room 105. He sighed, as there was only a shadow of the number five where it should have been hanging.

He unlocked the door and stepped in, and gust of warm, stale air hit him instantly. He flicked the light on with an electrical buzz and found that there were two queen size beds on the right wall along with a night stand between them that was bare except for a lamp and a digital clock. There was one strange art piece that Daichi figured was supposed to be a fish hanging on the opposite wall and facing the beds. In the back of the room there was a door that definitely led to a bathroom. Long curtains covered the large window beside the door.

As soon as Daichi was done looking over the room, Tanaka came shuffling in with Asahi drifting behind, carrying Nishinoya. The brunette's eyelids drooped and the moment he saw the bed farthest from the door, he laid Nishinoya there. Tanaka wrinkled his nose in disgust, rubbing the right side of his neck in discomfort. "Smells like ass in here." He complained, dropping his bag in the middle of the floor and sitting beside it.

"Would you rather be freezing in the car and wake up with a crick in your neck?" Daichi replied, and the younger male grunted, flopping his head on his backpack and closing his eyes, hissing in discomfort and covering himself up with one wing. In seconds, his breathing had steadied again and he was asleep with a frown on his face. Behind Daichi, Suga huffed and he turned to see him helping Akaashi get Tsukishima in.

"You could've at least had them lay a blanket down. We don't know how often they really clean these rooms. That rug could be littered with bugs." He said, nose wrinkled in distaste. He sighed at the sight of Noya already laid on a bed. Asahi was hidden on the other side of the bed but his feet could be seen past the end of it, still wearing his shoes and everything.

"They didn't even check for bedbugs..." Suga muttered, and Daichi made a point of doing so for the other bed closest to the door before letting them lay Tsukishima in it.

Akaashi took his own shower first, and made it quick because he was exhausted. Once he was back, he laid beside Tsukishima on top the bed covers, and drifted off in a matter of minutes with his wing curled over the blond. Daichi, sitting in a chair on the other side of the room, watched Suga. "Guess the other two are showering tomorrow. Go ahead, Kou. You need it more than I do." Daichi said, and prepared to lean back and get comfortable in the chair. But he stopped.

Suga, who had been sitting on the edge of Noya's bed, had his gaze on the carpet before he looked up at Daichi's words. And with his weak eyes full of more pain than he should have been handling, he looked at Daichi, silently begging for it to end. When their gazes connected, Daichi understood. Suga, who had been the beacon of hope for them back in the Facility, and their entire time outside of it, needed him. He needed him.

And Daichi was going to be there for him. He nodded to the bathroom and Suga disappeared inside. Daichi double-checked the locks on the door and windows, and pushed the chair up under the doorknob before grabbing his clothes and going into the steamy bathroom expecting Suga to be in the shower by now.

But Suga was sitting on the lid of the toilet seat, head in his hands and elbows on his knees. He looked up when the door opened, and his eyes softened at the sight of Daichi, who locked the door behind them. He watched him set his clothes on the counter and kneel at his feet.

"What can I do?" Daichi asked gently, taking Suga's hands in his own. The shower was going, permeating the air around them with steam. Suga opened his mouth to reply, but his throat felt tight and the tears were already starting to build. Daichi knew it then, and pulled Suga to his feet so he could hug him tightly.

With that, Suga let himself break, crumbling in Daichi's arms and letting his face fall into his shoulder. His tears overflowed, flowing down his cheeks and mingling with the condensation that had built up on his skin. Instead of making him lighter, the tears felt like they weighed a ton. Suga was shaking his head before he spoke.

"We shouldn't have done this."

"Baby, don't say that."

"But it's true! We have no idea what we're doing- what we're going to _do_ when we get there!" Suga countered. Daichi wrapped his left arm around his waist, his right hand going into his hair. Suga sniffled. "You know it, too. This whole trip is a fucking mess- our lives are a mess! Noya's probably severely hurt, and Kei's practically dying over there, and there's nothing we can do. And the others, who knows what's happening to them right now! Daichi, they could be getting tortured, or they could be dead." He was sobbing now, and Daichi was squeezing him close, whispering.

"All the more reason for us to keep going. We can't leave them, Koushi." Daichi whispered in his ear. Suga shook his head again. "We can...call the police...let them do it! I'm so tired, Daichi! I'm tired!" Daichi hushed him and pulled away from the hug to cup his cheeks. "Come on." He said, and reached down to take the hem of Suga's blood-stained hoodie.

Suga let him pull the hoodie over his head and following with his shirt, Daichi set both of those on the counter, admiring for the first time Suga's wings as a compliment to his body's radiance. He'd lost weight since Daichi last really looked at it, and as much as it pained him to see, he went on. Suga rested his face in his shoulder again and his arms hung over them while Daichi got to work on removing his jeans. There were covered in dirt after the encounter with the cops yesterday.

Daichi tugged them down and Suga, still crying, kicked out of those and his boxers. He was hugging Daichi's neck now, and Daichi held him for that moment before stripping himself of his own clothing and wrapping his arms around his lover once more. He rubbed his warm hand up and down Suga's spine, clutching him close by the waist.

"We're so close."

"It's too much. I can barely take it anymore." Suga pulled away and touched their foreheads together. Looking into Daichi's eyes, they were deep, and they said all of the words that he both did and did not want to hear. Daichi leaned forward and kissed him, and this kiss said, _"I know."_

Suga allowed Daichi to get them in the shower, and from there, Suga never let go of him, never pulled away from the kisses that they started. When he lost himself in Daichi's touch, his loving hold and intimate caresses, it was almost like they were home, Suga having sneaked Daichi in through his bedroom window like all those cliche teenagers in those movies. They'd leave the bathroom and continue in his bedroom, and they'd get caught after because they laughed too loud or something.

What Suga would give for that now. When Daichi pulled away from the kiss, he pressed Suga's back against the shower wall and latched his lips onto the left side of his neck, drawing a breathy moan from the other's moist lips and a flutter from his wings. Suga's arms fell around Daichi's shoulders, clinging to him as if this would be their last moment together. If they were back home he would say as he usually did, "No marks." But now they were all he wanted. He wanted to feel every soft touch, every firm grip, every kiss and bite that Daichi had to give.

Suga let the back of his head touch the cold shower wall, and he tried not to be too picky or grossed out since he would be getting clean anyway. It was a generally decent wall anyway, and Daichi's sucks and bites to his neck were taking his mind off it. His hands gripped Suga's sides, rubbing his thumbs over his skin and simultaneously holding him against the wall while pulling their chests flush together. He himself was already lost now in touching him.

It had been a full year since he had done so, at least this way. And God, did he hate that. He grazed his teeth over Suga's skin and Suga knew it. Suga's breaths were shallow and soft, eager. He rutted his hips forward into Daichi's and Daichi pushed back with a low groan, pulling the other's hips against him. His lips wandered over to Suga's throat, where Suga sighed shakily and let Daichi continue to the other side of his neck, beginning to grind their hips together. The sudden pleasure surprised Suga, who let out a desperate moan before biting his lower lip to keep himself quiet.

He felt Daichi press his knee between his legs, and he really knew then, as Daichi's hands lowered to grope his ass, that Daichi knew exactly how to distract themselves from the hell that was their life.

Daichi took Suga's thighs and maneuvered him up the wall so his legs could wrap around his waist, and Suga gladly complied, keeping them tight around Daichi. Their touches weren't going to be enough, and they knew that. They both knew it. And finally, Tsukishima was so asleep that he wouldn't hear a thing. Suga felt guilty about being happy about it, but when he was soon completely helpless, clinging to his lover as he drove into Suga over and over again, ecstasy replaced guilt. _Euphoria_ replaced guilt.

Because Suga needed this whether he wanted to admit the circumstances or not. He was sure he was seeing stars at some point, and those stars shone brighter than any he had seen in a long time.

  
[DAY 6, DAWN]

  
They awoke at the same time, still in the position they were when they laid on their makeshift pallet on the motel floor- after Suga draped blankets over everyone else, of course.

Suga could feel Daichi's chest flush against his back and his arm wrapped securely around him. Suga's body still felt a little fatigued especially after last night, but also refreshed, which put a small smile on his face. He held in a snort when Daichi's lips press to his nape, giving it small kisses.

The room was bright courtesy of the thin curtains, and while it was a nuisance, it almost made the room pretty with an orange glow. Suga further buried himself under the covers, turning around to face Daichi and nudge his face up under his neck. Daichi shifted down on his back and pulled him halfway onto his chest, arms still tight around him. They laid in silence like that, but Daichi broke the silence after a couple minutes. "We can't go to the police."

Suga's wing further curled over Daichi's stomach as he lay on his chest. "I know," He whispered. "I was just desperate. It never does end."

"One day it will, Koushi."

"Hopefully we don't have to get ourselves killed for that."

The reality of Suga's reply hit only a few seconds after he said it. Even if they did get the others back and got as far away from the Facility as they could afterwards, they were implanted with those chips that Katsumata talked about. They'd just trace them to wherever they fled to. He briefly wondered if they could reason with Katsumata, convince him to leave them be. He almost laughed aloud at that.

Suddenly off in the center of the room, a bundle of feathers and fabric shot up, startling the two of them into sitting up. The blankets fell off to reveal Tanaka. He was looking all around him in a panic- or rather, what looked to be terror. His eyes were wide, his skin pale, feathers ruffled, and shoulders tensed. He raised a hand to his left eye, panting and eventually matching his gaze to that of Daichi and Suga.

"Tanaka?" Daichi called, and Suga started to crawl over. Suga only managed to touch Tanaka's shoulder before the younger male was flinching, crawling backwards away from the touch until his back hit the wall of the door under the window where their shoes were. It was almost like he didn't know where he was, or that he was safe.

His gaze darted off to the side, and the boy seemed to go even paler if that was possible. "Yuu!" He pushed past Suga to run to Nishinoya's bed, like he hadn't just been captured by fear. Nishinoya's body was thrashing about, jolting, _seizing_. Suga and Daichi followed, and the shout had awoken everyone else in the room; Akaashi had nearly fallen out of bed, and Tsukishima didn't move an inch, though his startle was clear.

"Oh God, what do we do?! Daichi, what do we do?!" Suga shouted, watching in horror as a foamy white substance started to ooze past Nishinoya's parted lips. His head titled back and his body arched off the bed, eyes rolling backward so hard his irises nearly disappeared into his skull.

Suga's terrified screaming was nearly deafening, and before Daichi knew it, everyone but Tsukishima was shouting.

"Don't touch him!" Akaashi was yelling, and told Asahi not to lift him, that the bed may have been the best place for him. Nishinoya's body convulsed violently, and Tanaka ran his fingers back through his growing buzz-cut, watching as Nishinoya's wings began to copy his body, forcing everyone to step back.

"Tanaka," Daichi was calling him, but he didn't hear, stuck on the blood starting to seep through the bandage on Noya's head. "Tanaka!"

This coupled with his nightmare was surely going to kill him-

"TANAKA!" That was a different voice.

Tanaka snapped out of it when Asahi shook him by the shoulders. He looked between the commotion and Asahi's tired, distressed eyes. "Come on, we're loading everything into the car!" He told him and gave him a small push. Tanaka was briefly out of it, before he got it in gear and started gathering their blankets from the floor. His second trip back inside, he snatched the blankets from the beds because they needed extra against the cold, especially if everyone they were planning to rescue was still alive in the Facility.

He briefly thought of all of their corpses piled up in the corner of the lab, the last one to be thrown into the pile being Hinata's as the doctors discarded them. He nearly threw up all over the blankets in his arms, but he reeled himself in, stuffing them into the trunk with their carelessly-thrown-in bags. Right as he ran back inside for his shoes, Daichi was walking, carrying out a limp Nishinoya toward the car. He grabbed the leftover shoes so they weren't forgotten.

"Get in the car!" Suga commanded, running past them and opening the middle door for Daichi, before heading for the driver's seat. Tanaka climbed into the passenger seat as he was told, his heart pounding erratically behind his rib cage. "Where are we going?" He asked.

"The hospital!"

"The what?! We can't do that, we can't cover up anymore!" Tanaka protested fearfully, and he was suddenly reminded of how heavy his body was with wings. Suga didn't spare him a glance as he started up the car. He knew that now there was no other option.

The seizure had to have been because of the head trauma, and the thought of leaving it unattended, leaving it to worsen... Yuu's life mattered more than his wings being seen, and Suga was going to see to it that they got him the care that he needed, even if it would cost their own security.

God, they didn't even have a plan! What was he thinking, that no one would notice?! _'Fuck, this is bad. This is so fucking bad, this is so bad.'_

  
[THE FACILITY]

Hinata was waiting impatiently at the Nest door. His feathers were ruffled and his heart was pounding as he stood alone in the room, and the silence had started to get to him because Yamaguchi didn't come back again for the night. The whole reason he'd been called to the Medical Ward yesterday was because Kageyama was finally out of surgery. Katsumata ended up scheduling it for early yesterday morning, which woke them out of their sleep when the doctors came for him.

Sympathetic, Katsumata allowed Hinata to go with Kuroo, Bokuto and Yamaguchi. However, the majority of his morning had been spent alone before then, just like this one. But he didn't mind. Was it bad to be used to it? Hinata thought so.

Yesterday, he had only been in the Medical Ward by Kageyama's resting side for a little while before they brought in an unconscious Kuroo. It only sky-rocketed Hinata's anxiety when he saw him covered in blood. He never did learn what happened, as he was instantly put back in the Nest.

Now, as the beep sounded on the door and he was led to the ward, Hinata was excited to see Kageyama. He didn't understand Katsumata letting them be so close together at Hinata's request, but he certainly wasn't complaining. He hardly waited for the man to open the door before he was pushing past him to see that Kageyama was on the right side of the room, sitting up in the bed. Sparing a glance around the room, Hinata could see that fewer children occupied the beds. His blood was working, he assumed, and that made some of this day a little better.

"Kageyama!" Hinata called out, and now he was running, teeming with joy just to see him awake. Kageyama didn't speak, but with his eyes, his relief was evident, and he opened his arms without even meaning to, receiving Hinata when he jumped onto the bed and not letting go.

"W10!" The doctor behind him chided, catching up with an air of irritation in his step. "W9 is in no condition for rough behavior. That's enough."

Hinata huffed, still hugging Kageyama, and he moved to let go. But Kageyama didn't. Over the ginger's shoulder, Kageyama's glaring eyes were set on the doctor, who had stopped walking toward them, instead returning eye contact. Kageyama's glare darkened and he clutched Hinata tighter than he meant to and the doctor's gaze became blank for a long moment.

"U-Um...Kageyama, he said to-"

"On second thought," The doctor interrupted, and Kageyama's grip on Hinata softened. "You should just be careful. We don't need you causing injury." Hinata turned around to look at the doctor in surprise, and found him walking back to the double doors. It bothered Hinata that a white coat changed their mind- and that quickly, too.

"That was weird." He said, an eyebrow raised as he sat in front of Kageyama, whose arms were reluctant to let him go. Kageyama moved his legs apart so Hinata could sit in front of him easier, and let his arms linger subtly around his smaller waist.

"I don't think it was. So, uh...you came to see me?" Kageyama changed the subject, and Hinata looked back at him, face brightening.

"Yeah! I said I'd be here, didn't I?"

Kageyama nodded slowly after a few moments, and he swore he felt something unfamiliar in his chest. It wasn't quite excitement alone, or joy, but a little bit of both, and more. His breath hitched when Hinata's warm hand touched reached up, hesitantly brushing over his cheek. "How...how're you feeling?" He asked softly, his smile falling as if it had been a complete facade. "Does it hurt at all?"

Kageyama was shaking his head before he finished the question, taking Hinata into his arms and burying his face in his shoulder, clinging as he'd done before and letting his eyes settle on his wings. He felt it. He felt Hinata starting to break, starting to crumble to pieces right in front of him, and he couldn't take that. "Doesn't hurt. Doesn't hurt, I promise." He said lowly.

Hinata's hands crept around to his back, fingers gracing carefully over the bandages that wrapped around the other's upper torso down to his lower back. They felt around the stems of his wings, careful not to cause pain. He could feel the stitches underneath the bandages below his partially-wrapped wing stems, and flinched at how tight they were. He wrapped his arms around Kageyama's shoulders, hands nearly trembling as they clutched to him.

"Are you sure?" He whispered. Kageyama didn't respond, and Hinata felt guilty for some reason. Of course he was in pain, he must have just taken meds before Hinata came in. If not, they were probably being prepped for him. "Should we...stop?" Hinata asked, resting his chin on Kageyama's shoulder and acknowledging for the first time how close they were. Even closer than last time.

"No. This is fine. Stay..." His squeezing of Hinata's waist tightened desperately once again, but this time Hinata hugged just as tightly. The ginger's heart was fluttering and burning at the same time, and he couldn't describe what feeling it came from. He was happy, but not just because Kageyama was awake. He knew that much. He nodded, and he felt Kageyama's body relax just a little bit. But he remained tense.

"Kageyama-kun...?"

"Hm?"

Hinata wanted to ask about the doctor, if Kageyama had something to do with it. Hinata wasn't oblivious to what he was capable of. He just wasn't aware that he'd gotten so strong.

"I'm glad you're alive."

_'Because they could've done anything to you, and I think that might kill me.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sorry for adding that Daisuga steaminess in there, I'm better at dirty stuff when I mesh emotion into it.  
Who knows, maybe there could be something more explicit in the future? Hon hon hon hon~ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you aren't expecting this.

_This dream wasn't like the other ones. This time he was there, standing amongst the chaos of what materialized before him in the tar void of his unconscious mind._

_The noise was muffled, but he knew that it was chaos waiting for him the moment he saw the first white feather fall. He reached out, just for a touch, and the feather eluded him, twisting through the dark and starting to burn up in orange flames until it was black. It crackled and bits of the fire shot toward him. In fear, he stepped back and raised his arms to guard himself, gasping as more of the burning feathers started to rain down from above._

_His heart was pounding in his chest, he could smell the smoke. The rancid scent was akin to burning hair and stung his nostrils. The feathers held a subtle orange glow, and for a moment he thought this was all that the nightmare was going to be. It was peaceful for just a moment, and then the deafening screech of tires made him jump. Two blinding headlights were aimed right at him, and he was squinting to see the rest of the vehicle-_ _ to no avail. Either he was finally starting to crack, or those headlights were getting bigger. He was walking backward, and he turned and now he was running, sprinting._

_The engine growled deeply, revving as the beast sped up, and right as he was sure he was about to be run over, he tripped and collided roughly with the cold ground, and the roaring creature that couldn't have been a car zoomed past him as he cowered on the ground. The air around him only seemed to grow louder with the distant shrieks of the innocents and muffled, panicked shouting._

_"HINATAAA!" He heard a voice shriek, and God, it was the most awful noise he had ever heard. It sounded gut-wrenching, throat-shredding, and he clasped his hands over his ears as it dragged on and on, and on. He knew the voice, he was positive, and that made it so much worse._

_More tires screeching._

_"Just let me do this! I can help, I can do something!"_

_"No! I'm not losing you again!"_

_A gunshot pierced through the air and the screaming intensified, sending his heart racing faster than it was before. He pushed himself to sit up, and his eyes widened as he could see more scorching feathers falling over him. Some had touched and melted together, swiveling quicker to the ground under the weight of their horrid amalgamations. They were starting to turn ashen as the fire slowly overtook them._

_The sparks that fell from them touched the ground around him and ignited it in flames. He gasped as a wall of fire grew in a matter of seconds, and it seemed to chase him as he crawled backward. He blinked and the world around him was suddenly real. The ground beneath him was hidden with thick, white snow, but in it were awful red stains that he didn't need to think hard about to understand._

_The air was clouded with heavy gray smoke, and before him stood a tall building. There was a raging fire on the roof, but that was the least of his worries when he saw what looked to be the source of the fire...falling from the roof of the building._

_This building began to fall with it, and in its place arose a new one, a hospital. Before he could focus enough on it as it all materialized, everything began to crumble once more._

_This time the gunshot that went off was so close that it made his ears ring._

"Chikara! Breakfast is ready, will you get out of bed and come down, please?!"

Said boy's eyes shot open, wide and unfocused. His breaths were shaky, and decidedly not putting in the effort to calm them, Ennoshita Chikara sat up in his bed slowly. He was drenched in sweat, skin hot and mind racing with the aftermath of the vivid dream that he'd had. Without answering his mother, he reached under his mattress for the journal and pen that he'd been keeping for an entire year.

He swung his feet over the edge of his bed and opened it on his lap, immediately starting to scribble the details faster than he could even think them. His eyes occasionally flickered to the entry on the left page, skimming over what he'd written: SCALES, BLOOD, FUR, SURGERY, POLICE SIRENS, RED AND BLUE LIGHT. He'd been much more frazzled when he wrote that one, but not for this one. He went into detail for the first time in a while, and he wrote so quickly that his wrist began to ache within thirty seconds.

"Chikara!" This time it was his father, and he still didn't answer, maybe didn't even hear in his paranoid writing frenzy. He could remember it all just as he saw it, a skill that he'd built on ever since these distressing nightmares began. Only after he finished the last letter did Chikara come back to reality and lower the shaky hand with the pen in it.

He sat in silence and blinked himself awake, eyelids begging to stick back together with their infernal burn. He returned the journal to its place and quietly made his way down the stairs. At the table sat his parents, who looked at him with impatience. But those looks changed when he made it down the stairs.

"Good morning." His father greeted warily. His mother, however, was visibly worried.

"Chi, sweetheart, are you alright? You don't look so well." She said. The first time she told him that, he walked away without response. Of course, that had been the morning after he was thrown out of the Tanaka household, and minutes after the police had just left from their own home when they finished questioning him.

_*_*_*_

_"Chikara, will you come here, please?" His father had called to him. Chikara had been put on "punishment," which was really just being grounded with nothing to do in his room. Not much of a punishment, as Chikara had no problem being still, and wasn't really a busy-body unlike others he knew. Hey, it meant sleep, and that was the sweetest punishment ever. Only, he felt like complete shit, so maybe the sleep was the only silver lining. His parents forbid him from volleyball, which he was only angry about for a little while. He'd moped out of his room with that same sleepy look on his face, only now he was flushed and looked like he'd been crying._

_It didn't faze his father, who gestured for him to sit at the table where two officers were waiting. His mother was offering them coffee. Chikara didn't take a seat until his father had to order him to. The man bent down toward his ear. "If you think your little rebellion game is going to make me relent, it isn't. Now cooperate." The words were harsh, but he was used to that lately._

_"You are friends with Tanaka Ryunosuke, correct?" The officer without the notepad asked. He'd agreed._

_"He was reported missing this morning by his father, who claimed that there was an argument last night. We'd like to ask you some questions with the permission of your..."_

_But Chikara had zoned out the instant he heard that first part. He froze, and it took calling his name three times before he blinked out of his trance._

_"Missing...?"_

_*_*_*_

"Chikara!" The brunette jumped at the frustrated voice of his father. "For the love of God, are you with us today? Nod your head for yes, make it simple." The man said, and sighed, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. His son nodded lazily and passed the table to the refrigerator where he sifted through it silently.

"I made breakfast right here, what are you doing?" Mrs. Ennoshita asked, her eyebrows furrowed slightly as her worry increased. Chikara emerged from the machine with a tall can in hand, and used his shirt to wipe off the top. He cracked the energy drink open and started downing it like it was the last bit of water in the hottest desert for miles.

The adults looked at each other, and had a silent conversation with their eyes before both turning to look at their son, who finished the can in less than ten seconds.

"I said no more energy drinks." Mr Ennoshita said, frowning when the boy pulled out a second one.

"Did you?" Chikara replied dismissively, looking him right in the eyes as he started to chug that one as well, taking pleasure in seeing his father frown. He knew exactly where this conversation was going, and with the mood he was in, he most certainly did not want to deal with their shit. Not today, of all days.

"Honey," Chikara looked to the owner of that sweet voice, his mother. "Have you stopped taking your medication again?"

"Mmhm." He hummed casually, and lowered the can for a moment. "They make it harder to wake up, and my migraines get worse."

Mr. Ennoshita sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We've already been through this with you-"

"I'm sorry the amount of money you spend is more important than my physical and mental health. I'm _not_ taking them, they make me feel terrible!" Chikara shouted.

"And you think not sleeping is going to be healthier? You can't live like that, Chikara, you have to sleep! They're dreams, they can't hurt you!" The man shot back, and Mrs. Ennoshita looked troubled by the small argument.

Chikara went quiet, downing the rest of the can before throwing both away. "But _you_ know what can?"

"Oh please, not this again. It's been a _year_. Grow the hell up, son."

"No, you grow up! Don't forget that you gave me the pills because my doctor said to, I never asked for them! So leave me alone!" Chikara lashed out, and his mother's hands were over her mouth in shock at what her son had become.

The tension in the room was thick, and Chikara couldn't stand it. He was having second thoughts about going on the trip, but now he was positive he didn't want to be stuck in here with him. Without another word, he started to walk past the table again, halting when Mr. Ennoshita grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?"

Chikara glared, and in his eyes they could see that he was miserable. "On the Hospital trip, remember? The program that you signed me up for against my will." He yanked his arm away and retreated upstairs, leaving his parents to sit amongst each other in silence.

_*_*_*_

_"It was you." Chikara claimed, and all eyes were on him now. Mr. Tanaka scowled. "Excuse me?" The boy's parents stepped up beside him, his mother taking his shoulder and his father taking him sternly by the back of his collar._

_Mrs. Ennoshita seemed embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, Tanaka-san. He's just upset. He was really good friends with Ryunosuke." She tried to cover, but the man snorted. "Yeah, too good. And where's my kid now, huh? Not here."_

_"It was you, wasn't it?" Chikara tried to step forward but his father tugged him back. "Chikara," he warned lowly, but the boy was seething with rage._

_He saw it. Chikara saw that smirk on the man's face when they were about to pass each other in the halls of the police station. The parents of Nishinoya Yuu were also present, as well as Ryunosuke's older sister, Saeko, who looked completely distraught over the disappearance of her brother. The families had been called for last-minute questioning._

_"What the hell are you smiling for?!" Chikara shouted, drawing more attention to himself. The man's scowl deepened and he glared at the parents. "Hey, why don't you learn to control your damn kid? Maybe if you could do that, Ryunosuke wouldn't have had that little accident last week." His expression was nothing short of disgust when he said that, and Chikara felt pieces of his heart starting to break off in bigger chunks than ever._

_Accident. That's what he called it. An accident, as if the eight months of Chikara's life that he had shared so closely with the man's son were comparable to a child making a mess._

_"Take that back." Chikara said lowly, and the man didn't hear him. "That word. Take it back."_

_The Nishinoya family was watching, but no one intervened, for the poor mother was still crying, and hadn't stopped for an entire week. She needed their comfort._

_"Tch. What for? That's all it was. Confusion-"_

_"No-"_

_"Ryunosuke knew better. I didn't teach him that, I was teaching him to be a man! Here you come, messing up how I raised my boy, taking away every bit of manhood that I gave him. You didn't have the right." That statement was what sold it for Chikara, who would believe Mr. Tanaka to be the culprit of Ryunosuke's disappearance until proven otherwise. Chikara didn't know he was crying, and he was too hurt to be embarrassed._

_"What'd you do to him?" He asked weakly, and his fingernails un-clenched from his palms, leaving a sting in their wake. "How dare you... You bastard." Chikara had started to cry, and his mother pulled him into her arms, guiding him away from Mr. Tanaka, who stood there five long seconds after they were gone down the hall._

_Mr. Ennoshita looked back at that man for every second, and Mr. Tanaka looked right back at him._

_*_*_*_

"Ennoshita-san, you need to be paying attention, please. We could easily fill your spot with a more eager student." The deep voice of the instructor said, and numerous eyes settled on Ennoshita, who was lingering toward the back so he purposely went unnoticed. Alas, he stood out the most when his eyes were closed and everyone else was gazing at their notebooks and writing away.

His eyes met those of the instructor and he nodded. "I'm sorry, I don't sleep well. I'll try to do better." The man studied him slowly, perhaps for a little too long and with too much interest, before he nodded. "That brings me to sleep deprivation and the medications that can be prescribed to help with that. When it comes to sleep deprivation, the brain..."

Ennoshita gladly zoned out once more, though he did feel a tiny twinge of guilt since the instructor wanted him to pay attention. But the instructors wanted everyone to pay attention. Ennoshita was probably the only person who didn't want to be here at three in the afternoon walking through the halls of a Tokyo hospital when he could be doing something else with his time.

This whole medical profession thing was his parents' idea, of course. Ever since the disappearance of almost the entirety of the Karasuno volleyball team, his parents thought it would be better if they kept a closer eye on him just in case the culprit wasn't finished snatching up the team's children. What better way to do that then to label his aspirations to be a director as childish and unrealistic, and wrap their hands around his life.

_"Being a doctor is such an admirable job, Chi. Look at your father, you could be a doctor just as amazing as him."_ He recalled his mother saying. Ennoshita had only grown more distant from them, but they clearly didn't care about what he wanted.

It was always, _"People like men with prosperous jobs, Chikara, you need to be successful"_ and _"You'll be able to provide so well for my future grandchildren and daughter-in-law! You'll surely have a beautiful family!"_

It only intensified when he stopped sleeping. He had gone a full three days without sleeping before they even noticed, but they chalked it up to the stress of losing all of his friends in a span of a few days. It wasn't like he could tell them that every night when he closed his eyes, he could see the most awful things, feel the most awful pains. That he could hear their voices, garbled together in pained cries, broken sobs, and screaming pleas to be "let out." He always wondered from where.

That's where the sleeping pills and antidepressants came from. He despised those things.

It had hit Ennoshita like a truck when his parents told him they were moving to Tokyo because of a job offer for his father. They thought it would be better for Chikara to get away from the place that reminded him of his losses anyway. He'd protested, but now here he was living in Tokyo for the past nine months. He never ran into any of their old rivals except for at the memorial. Even then, some of them seemed off to him, but he believed that to be his own grieving mind unconsciously trying to find another excuse to hate Tokyo. He couldn't believe everyone had given up looking. It had only been one year, they could still be alive.

He remembered their pictures. All of them were smiling in their childhood pictures, like they were happy living in those frames. Like they _were_ alive.

Wait, his eyes were closing. He should've drank an extra one to be prepared. Healthy or not, he would do anything to stay awake now, despite his occasional crashes. The nightmares had to stop.

"Ennoshita-san, why don't you go get some water to clear your mind a bit." The voice of the instructor said teasingly, and Ennoshita's eyes opened, face heating briefly when he saw that everyone's eyes were on him, those knowing grins stretching their faces. "The rest of us will continue on for now. Don't fall asleep looking for us." The instructor teased, and only a few people laughed because they probably felt like they had to just to.

_'Thank God.'_ Ennoshita thought, nodding as the group walked ahead without him. He didn't mean to doze, but it ended good, so he figured he'd just get the water and head back to the lobby, fabricate some sort of lie about getting lost in following the group. He started in the opposite direction and went back the way they had come, passing doctors, patients and visitors all the same.

He wouldn't wave, or look up from his notes, pretending to be studying or doing something important. But he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. Watched by who was the question, and a very good one at that. It felt like every adult he passed glanced back at him over their shoulder. Now, he had no proof of this, but a feeling was a feeling, and Ennoshita happened to be very in touch with his feelings lately, especially these types.

By the time he made it to the water vending machine, he was thoroughly paranoid, to say the least, and had decided that he was going to leave the hospital altogether. Screw what his parents had to say about it, he was almost out of high school, and it was only a matter of time before he could leave them for good. He quickly paid for a water bottle and slipped into the nearest elevator to head down to the first floor.

As he waited, his mind began to wander back to the dreams he was having. Were they dreams? Or nightmares? They were practically nightmares, for they always frightened him to some degree. But others made him uneasy, such as the one he had some time ago where he saw the memorial. When he awoke that morning, he'd received a letter invitation to said memorial. That was the one he mentioned to his parents, but they brushed him off. His father had raised a brow, but that was the only significant response he got before they gave him permission to go to Miyagi for the event.

Ennoshita snapped out of it when the elevator was coming to a stop. When the doors opened he went to step out, only to shout in surprise when he was shoved roughly back inside, his back smacking against the wall. Two doctors, presumably male, were stepping into the elevator with him, allowing the doors to close behind them. He couldn't see their faces, for their medical masks covered the lower halves of them.

"This is the one, right?" The doctor on the right spoke into his lab coat collar. Ennoshita glanced up into the corner where the camera was centered directly on him. His blood went cold and his mind started to swim with confusion. He lunged forward to try and escape, but with one hand, the doctor on the left grabbed him by his throat and slammed him back against the wall.

"W-What're you doing? Let go of me- Someone help!" He cried, and the doctor promptly squeezed his throat, taking advantage of a child's panic to let him struggle under his grip and not fight his way out.

_'Oh God, what's going on? Who are these people, they're supposed to be doctors!'_ Ennoshita's heart was pounding, he could just barely breathe, for the man's inhumanly strong grip kept him right where they needed him.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to sprint home if he had to, anything to get away from whatever this was. Whoever was on the other side of that camera must have been watching him, tracking him across the others in the halls.

Ennoshita gagged and choked, tears threatening to fall from his eyes as his gaze found that of the man holding him. Those eyes, there was something wrong with them. He could see it now, that just barely visible were two vertical pupils, ones that should not belong to any sort of human he knew of.

"It's him."

Those words made the boy squirm and try to cry out again, but the "doctor" was already uncapping a syringe. The doors were closing, this was it, he knew he should have just stayed home today.

At the last second, a hand snaked around the left door and forced them both to slide back open. The rest became a blur of his own scattered interpretations of what was happening.

Something shot past his head and the camera clattered to the floor, glass shattering and crunching under his feet when he jumped away and crouched, and the doctors shouted. Suddenly there was no space in the elevator, taken up by the hooded body of another and the two black masses that swept almost gracefully behind them.

The doors closed, and now he was trapped in here with this absolute madness. The stranger easily slammed one doctor into the wall, and threw a punch to the other with impact so brutal that it made Ennoshita flinch as he cowered in the corner of the elevator, shielding himself behind his hands in fear. The doctors were thrown about like they hardly weighed anything, and before he knew it, the elevator was silent.

Feathers of black drifted through the air, and he sat there, shaken by what he had just witnessed, and the bodies of the doctors on the floor at his feet. He hoped they were unconscious. The stranger was standing close to him, and he didn't want to move. Ennoshita was reluctant to raise his gaze, but he slowly raised his head to look up at his savior.

It was then that he froze, that all feeling left his body and he was sure he had become a statue. It felt like his heart stopped as the stranger(could he really be called that now?) was sinking down to his knees, to eye-level. His knees thudded against the elevator floor and Ennoshita flinched, though he never tore his eyes away from that face.

It was a dream, he concluded. He never awoke this morning, he was still lying in bed tossing and turning as his mind took him through hell to tell him something that would do nothing but make him paranoid. His parents were calling him, but he probably wouldn't wake up because this was the longest dream he'd ever had.

But nothing usually touched him so clearly in his dreams. And yet...

"Chikara?"

He was touching Ennoshita's cheek with a shaking hand. His face was different, he looked like he had been through worse than Ennoshita could ever imagine.

Ennoshita's eyes had welled up with tears before he knew it happened, and he was timidly reaching up to push the hood off of the other's head. His hair had grown just a little more than a buzz cut, it was black.

Ennoshita's heart surely stopped, but it couldn't have when he could feel it, _hear_ it pounding so clearly.

"R-Ryu?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you didn't expect that. ;)
> 
> Shorter, I know, but I needed to get this part out of the way before we get knee deep in a whole lotta shit.  
¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME CHILD ABUSE, AS WELL AS USE OF MILD HOMOPHOBIC LANGUAGE
> 
> Next chapter coming very soon!!!

[THE HOSPITAL]

Tanaka's foot tapped relentlessly on the linoleum floor, his eyes set on Nishinoya lying limp in the hospital bed. He almost looked like he was sleeping normally, not unconscious from having an aggressive seizure. Tanaka could hardly believe himself for forgetting that you need to turn someone who is having a seizure onto their side. How could panic make him forget something so important?

Sitting in a chair on the other side of the room farthest away from the bed, his mind was racing with too many thoughts as his body threatened him with a budding migraine.  
They had arrived a little over half an hour ago, and as nervous as they all were about having walked right in with blankets over their backs to try and hide their mutations, Tanaka felt like he was the most on edge, holding his sheet tightly together just over his collarbone.

On the left side of Noya's hospital bed closest to the door was Asahi, who was leaning back in a chair, hand over his mouth and his melancholy eyes locked onto the sleeping male. On the right side of the bed near to the window sat Suga, whose arms rested on the mattress beside Noya's leg, his face buried in them. In front of the window sat Tsukishima and Akaashi, the blonde's head tilted back to rest against the window as he slept, and Akaashi with his elbows on his knees, head resting in one hand.

They were all quiet, but mostly Daichi standing beside the door with his arms crossed. The guy barely moved. His spot in the room didn't comfort Tanaka as much as it should have, but that was understandable in their situation, wasn't it?

He couldn't sit still in his chair, the only noise in the room being his tapping foot. Nishinoya's wings were completely exposed, therefore, _he_ was entirely exposed. They knew the doctors couldn't tend to him with a blanket draped over him, but Tanaka wished there were a way that they could have. Adults were intelligent, it couldn't have possibly been hard for them to realize the rest of them were hiding the same secret.

"We should've kept going." Tanaka said, raising his hood up over his head with one hand and glancing around as if doctors were hiding in the corners of the room.

"Tanaka, we couldn't leave him like that. We need to know what's wrong with him if we plan to keep going ahead." Daichi told him, eyeing him from his place beside the door. Tanaka shoved one hand into his hoodie pocket, and Daichi noticed he was trembling. "Tanaka?"

"M-Man, we--we shouldn't be here, this fucking place, it's just like the Facility. Doesn't that bother anybody else?" Tanaka could barely breathe, he felt nauseous from the sterile smell of the room. Just like the halls of the Facility, only it lacked that papery doctors office smell. "They know about us, they gotta know. I don't wanna be in here, I-I can't be in here!" Tanaka's voice raised and that was when Suga lifted his head, showing his exhausted face.

Tanaka stood and sped toward the door, clutching his blanket and stopping when Daichi stepped up and blocked his path. "Of course it does. But right now we need to stay calm. Panicking isn't going to help us, do you understand?" Daichi spoke patiently, holding his hands out, maybe to take Tanaka by the shoulders, maybe not.

"Ryunosuke," Both looked to Suga, and it took a moment for the younger to realize his name had been said. Softly, hauntingly. But believe it got his attention. "Calm down. We can leave as soon as we get him better. Just bear with it for now, okay?" Suga pleaded. Tanaka could see it in his eyes, that he was barely handling the situation as it was. The drive had drained him as it had everyone else, but Suga was paler than the rest of them as he had been for days.

He certainly didn't need Tanaka making everything more stressful. The teen quickly stepped around Daichi and despite the calls to his name, bolted down the halls of the hospital, running because he was unsure if Daichi was chasing him or not. He didn't want to be found, taken back to that suffocating hospital room where his best friend was unresponsive because a police officer hit him with a gun.

Tanaka couldn't take it, he didn't want to be here. He wanted to be anywhere but here where doctors in white coats walked the halls and everything smelled like _that place_. His migraine became full blown the moment he decided to run and shake his body around, but that was the least of his worries. He cared more about getting away, getting somewhere where there was no one else.

Passing people surely caught glimpses of his wings under the flowing white blanket, but if he knew that if he ran, he couldn't be caught.

He'd ran through the ground floor of this hospital for a while before he finally stopped in a quieter part, slipping into the men's room and locking himself in one of the stalls. Breath after breath tore out of Tanaka's throat, and he tried relentlessly to get them under control, afraid in the back of his mind that he would receive a shock. His free hand journeyed up to feel the scarred holes in his neck where the prongs of the collar had been pierced into his skin for an entire year. It was almost funny how holes so small allowed so much pain through them.

'It's fine, everything's fine, they can't get to you in here. It's fine.'

But it wasn't. Tanaka dropped the blanket and collapsed back onto the toilet seat, tilting his head back against the wall as his mind wandered in a desperate attempt to distract himself from the growing fear in the pit of his stomach. "Calm down," He repeated Suga's words, without his token patience. "Calm down, just- j-just calm down." He huffed to himself, swallowing hard and letting his wings unfold a bit, dropping down on the sides of the toilet. Only then did the stall feel cramped.

Steadying his breaths was a useless attempt as burning tears built in the boy's tired eyes and his throat grew tight as he tried to hold in his cries. To be honest, he felt alone. Cold. He was far away from the home he could never go back to, because a normal life was out of the question for good. That's just how it is when you've been turned into a freak.

Tanaka never spoke on it, but he recognized the halls of the Facility when they were abducted. Memories that he'd suppressed and truly forgotten came back to the surface. Why were he and Noya such good friends? Because they knew each other when they were toddling after the doctors, doing everything they were told because they thought it was normal to receive a shock for disobedience.

They were no older than two years old when they were saved. Tanaka often wondered of the person who bothered to save them, just to have been killed for it, just for them to be returned to Hell years later. Tanaka took a shaky breath and raised a hand to press his fingers to his eyelids and keep the tears in. Now was not the time to break, but he couldn't help the stress finally starting to get to him after being crammed into a car for six days straight. He still needed a shower and he craved the familiarity of home, or even an embrace.

God, how was Saeko? Even now, he would like to see his dad. Even after what happened...  
Tanaka had tried to block out the memory, but being back in the real world seemed to be dragging him back to the last night he slept in his bedroom.

_*_*_*_

_It had been fine, everything had. Tanaka's heart was beating unlike it ever had before, and that was because the one person he had grown to like more than anyone else, wanted to be as close as he did._

_"Hey," Tanaka heard him whisper, and he pulled his mouth away from his neck, though the hands clasped to the back of his neck kept him from moving too far away. His eyes rolled slowly over Ennoshita's face, panting softly as he awaited his words. "What is this? I mean..._this_." Ennoshita said lowly, and Tanaka averted his gaze._

_He'd been waiting for the question of what they were to each other after eight months. It was going to be nine soon. "Do you wanna stop?" He asked, and let his eyes roam lower to the paler male's bare torso. They'd heatedly discarded their shirts just moments ago, after Nishinoya had left from all three of them hanging out for an hour after school. It was more of Ennoshita attempting to make them study, and that of course ended in watching movies because none of them could focus when the four first years on their team had been missing for two whole days._

_Ennoshita didn't reply, and Tanaka backed off of him, sitting back and crossing his legs, giving the other space. They sat in an awkward silence for a moment, and then Ennoshita spoke again._

_"I just...need to know. Is this just sex or is there more to it? I know we said it was nothing, but...it's almost been a year and we're still keeping this up. Has...anything changed?" Tanaka felt like he couldn't look at him, his heart raced for a different reason than excitement. He was afraid to look up and see that Ennoshita had picked up on his more sensual touches and was rejecting him._

_After all, Tanaka was probably more familiar with rejection than anyone else they knew. "Do you _want_ it to be different?" Tanaka realized how that sounded when he didn't make eye contact. He snapped his head up and raised his hands as if to brace for sudden shouting. "W-Which is totally fine, I don't mean it in a bad way or nothin'."_

_Ennoshita was grinning, and Tanaka felt like a fool. How did he not see it? Ennoshita spoke. "I do. I want it to be different, more than... If you don't, I get it-"_

_Tanaka waved his hands. "Nah, I do! I mean... Yeah. I, uh..." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, and unbeknownst to him, Ennoshita was wondering how he could go from dominant to this. "Jeez, I'm bad with the words. Can I just kiss you, or what?" Tanaka's heart jumped as soon as he asked that question, and he went to correct himself yet again, only to trail off when Ennoshita was leaning toward him, reaching around to grab the back of his neck and pull him forward into a kiss._

_Tanaka kissed back, and he could feel Ennoshita's smile, which meant that even though Tanaka wasn't good at saying what he meant, Ennoshita understood. The brunette's other hand grasped his shoulder and tugged him closer, and Tanaka got the memo. He carefully pushed Ennoshita to lie back down, and just like that, it was like the two of them were completely unfazed by stopping for a few brief moments._

_Tanaka, still with Ennoshita caught in a deep kiss, trailed a hand down the other's side, taking in how warm he was. No one but him would ever know this warmth. He pulled away from Ennoshita's lips to kiss at his neck, forcing down a smirk when Ennoshita's back lightly arched, putting their chests together. Tanaka's hand moved to his abdomen, and as he listened to his breaths get just a tad lighter, he slipped his hand past his pants line and started to lightly palm him over his boxers._

_Ennoshita's breath hitched and he groaned lowly, curving his arms around to Tanaka's back. "Your dad...coming home?" He asked, grinding up into the other's hand. Tanaka pulled his hand away._

_"Late." He said simply, and sat back to start undoing Ennoshita's belt. Ennoshita grinned, and Tanaka couldn't help smirking back as him as he pulled his pants off, revealing for what was surely the hundredth time, his excited lower half._

_For a while, they simply touched each other, relishing the way the other's hands felt. Tanaka could barely remember the way Ennoshita felt after a whole year._

_The turning point of the night was when Tanaka didn't hear the front door open over the noise that they were making. Ennoshita had one arm wrapped around his neck and the other low so his hand could clutch Tanaka's hip, legs spread so that one was on either side of Tanaka's hips. Tanaka clutched the underside of one thigh in his hand, keeping it up and to the side while his other arm propped him up beside Ennoshita's head._

_Ennoshita wasn't particularly loud, but that changed when they were completely alone like this(or so they thought). He let his voice out, let Tanaka hear every sound he could make, and every word he had to say as Tanaka continuously thrust his hips forward._

_The pleasure took them into a state of bliss, and it was different than other times. They weren't just getting off, they wanted to touch each other, to feel each other. Tanaka connected their lips in a fervent kiss, heart pounding with the love he was too shy to admit with words. Just a few seconds after he broke the kiss, breathing heavily, there came a voice._

_"Ryunosuke? What the hell're ya doing in there?"_

_The boys froze, breaths coming to a complete stop. Ennoshita was staring up at Tanaka with a look of shock and confusion, and Tanaka returned it. "Dad? I thought you were working!" He panted, eyebrows furrowing when he heard the man twisting the doorknob. He hadn't locked the door. Like and idiot, he had forgotten after Nishinoya went home, and felt confident that they'd be done before he got home. Luckily he'd put his desk in front of the door._

_But this was _Dad_. Dad couldn't see this, he'd wring his neck before he could even explain. Fear arose in Tanaka's heart, he didn't know what to do._  
_In a split second, panic set in, and he swiped their pants from the floor._

_"I got off earlier than I thought. What's all that noise, what're you doing? C'mon, I bought something to eat. What- What's in front of the door?"_

_"D-Dad, wait!"_

_"What's in front of the door?" The man was pushing the door open with more ease than the boys expected, and when that door was all the way open, Tanaka was inwardly grateful that he'd acted fast and grabbed their pants._

_There stood Mr. Tanaka, and the bag of food he'd mentioned dropped out of his hand. Tanaka wondered if he could pass the scene off as nothing. But...that was practically hopeless when there were two shirts on the ground, two pairs of boxers, and two sweaty teenage boys with pants that weren't even buttoned or zipped. Also...Tanaka was sure he put his on backwards..._

_"Dad, j-just listen, okay-"_

_"What the fuck is this? You in here fuckin' a boy?" The man scowled, but his face was ridden with mostly shock, shock that turned into pure rage in a matter of seconds._

_"You know what, I knew it! I thought I was teaching you better, you just turned out to be a faggot anyway." The man spat, and Tanaka briefly averted his gaze, unsure how to respond. The man stepped into the room and pointed to Ennoshita, who was stiff with evident fear._

_"You call your parents right here, and get your ass downstairs to wait for them to get here." He commanded, and Ennoshita didn't move until the man shouted in his face. "GO!"_   
_The teen scrambled off of the bed, grabbing up his leftover clothes, his backpack and his phone._

_Doing as the man said, in a particularly small voice, told his father to come and get him, before leaving for the bathroom._

_That was when Mr. Tanaka closed the door and his son stood up from the bed with raised hands. "Dad, I-I- Ah!" The boy hissed when his father's hand struck him across the cheek, sending him collapsing to the floor with a thud. Tanaka made no attempt to crawl away when the man came toward him, getting down to straddle him and grab him by the throat so he could push his head down to the floor._

_"D-DAD, NO-" Mr. Tanaka's fist connected brutally with his cheek, and it was only the first of many brutal punches to follow, his hand squeezing his son's throat all the while._

_*_*_*_

Tanaka had started to cry in the middle of the memory, and pulled his feet up to the seat to bury his face in knees. He began to sob then, shaking at the memory of his father beating him, shaking because he just wanted to go home, to get a hug even from him. His heart had sunken, and for a long while, he just sat there. He didn't know how long he did.

After a while, his cries became nothing, he only sat in silence, in his despair. And then he heard something.

"...Someone help!"

Hopping up from the toilet and forgetting entirely about the blanket, Tanaka darted out of the stall and the bathroom entirely, looking around for where the noise came from. There weren't many places, and a small run further down the hallway brought him to an elevator. Two doctors inside, cornering someone, the doors were starting to close, he could hear someone choking.

Without a second thought, Tanaka bolted toward the elevator, and just in time, he grabbed hold of one door and slipped inside.

That was what brought us to the present.

  
"Ch-Chikara, is that you?" His hand was warm in Tanaka's hand, he almost didn't believe he was real. Chikara? _Here_, and not in Miyagi? What reason could he possibly have to be here and not far away from anywhere that Tanaka was. More importantly, why had those doctors targeted him?

Ennoshita seemed speachless after whispering, his face ridden with nothing but shock. But then he leaned forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Tanaka, clinging to him tighter than he ever had before. "You're al- You're _alive_." He whispered, and Tanaka felt him shaking as he wrapped his arms around him in return. "You're alive...!" Ennoshita started to cry, burying his face in the other's shoulder.

Tanaka had no words. His heart still raced fro the brief but easy fight, and he hadn't realized he'd stopped breathing entirely the moment he took him into his arms.

"Why...why are you here?" Tanaka asked softly, almost inaudibly. Ennoshita didn't answer the question, but he didn't care. He didn't care, he still had to register the fact that he was here.

"They- They said you were all dead, they stopped looking, and- a-and..." Ennoshita trailed off as his eyes settled on the feathered masses just inches away from his face. Even in his state of fear, despair, and joy, he didn't let go at the sight of them, only tightened his hug around his neck.

Tanaka felt it, hugging him tighter and keeping him close just in case he let go in fear. That would tear him apart. "You see 'em...?" He asked. He felt no nod, only the slow, apprehensive touch of fingers. They briefly retreated before he felt them again, running slowly over his feather.

The tears running down Tanaka's cheeks were hot, but he barely acknowledged them when he held Ennoshita in his arms.

_'Don't touch them,'_ he wanted to say. _'I'll ruin you.'_

_*_*_*_

Daichi looked up when the door to the hospital room opened. Two doctors--one male and the other female-- walked in past him, closing the heavy door behind them.

"Good afternoon," The male said, eyeing everyone he could see. "I apologize for the wait, we had to consider all of the possibilities and options when dealing with Nishinoya-san." He said, and looked down at the clipboard in his hands.

Everyone in the room became attentive, almost like they hadn't been sitting miserably the entire wait. "Now, the seizure you say he had approximately eight hours ago was indeed the result of head trauma from the day before. In order for us to properly treat him, we'll need to keep him overnight. As for the rest of you-"

"What _about_ the rest of us?"

The doctors jumped and whirled around at the sound of Daichi's voice, brows raised when they discovered that he'd been standing behind them since they entered the room.

The woman stammered, eyes immediately falling to the blanket that he was dropping to the floor, and then back up to the wings he had revealed to them. The feathers had ruffled up--with fear, unbeknownst to the adults--and Daichi stood tall. The other boys gazed on in bewilderment as to why Daichi would do such a thing.

"W-Well, since none of you are the a legal guardian, we can only allow one of you to stay the night, and we'll have to contact his parents-"

"No." Said Daichi, and the man frowned.

"I'm sorry, young man, but we can't allow you to leave, especially without the knowledge of any legal guardian. Nishinoya-san needs to be monitored for at least twenty-four hours so we can be sure that he doesn't have another seizure. It's in his best interest."

But Daichi knew better, at least to a degree. They were doctors, they cared more about the appearance of a bunch of winged kids rather than the health of one. He shook his head.

"No, I don't think so. See, we've got somewhere we need to be. You're not keeping him here." He stepped forward, and the doctors stepped back, onto the bump into the chest of Asahi, who had understood exactly what Daichi was getting at with the revelation of his wings.

Daichi kept on. "And if you think for one second that I'm going to leave him here with you people, then you're wrong." Daichi's wings spread threateningly, and the doctors looked like they very well may pass out. The expression on the young man's face was serious, and he clearly meant every word of what he said.

"You're going to do whatever you have to, to make him better. And then you're going to let us walk out of here. And if you tell anyone about what you've seen,"

The door opened behind Daichi, but he didn't tear his eyes away from theirs. "I will kill you. Finding your homes is the easiest part. And first come your families." Daichi leaned closer with sharp eyes. "I will make you _watch_ as I slowly, painfully take the lives of the people you love. Then I'm gonna kill you and walk away. Is that what you want?"

The doctors, thoroughly terrified, shook their heads, stunned completely to their spots.

Daichi stepped back, lowering his wings. "Then get to it."

The doctors rushed out of the room, but Daichi was confused when he didn't hear the door close. The look on Asahi's face alerted him all the more, and when he turned around, he froze completely.

Ennoshita, standing still beside Tanaka, stared in awe at the people he was looking at, completely different than he remembered them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 16 on May 16th, haha...I've been inside for 65 days, please help me.
> 
> Also, I wanted to say thank you all of you for your amazing comments! I know I don't reply to them, but I promise that I read every single one(over and over again)! Each one make my smile wider and wider, and I think I've come to appreciate that during these times more than ever!  
I hope you're enjoying the story, because I figure right now when many of us are trapped in our homes, what better for me to do than to give all of you something to read!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a long one. Enjoy. ;)

[THE HOSPITAL]

"You okay? It's a ton of shit, huh?" Tanaka said lowly to Ennoshita, whose eyes were stuck on the hospital room floor as he sat in the chair that was previously Tanaka's. His elbow rested on his knees and his chin in his hand, fingers over his mouth in shock of the the things he'd just heard.

Around the room, awe-stricken eyes were still on the brunette, for it was still taking a lot for all of them to believe that this was reality. It had been three hours since Ennoshita was reunited with his old teammates, and it had taken those three hours for the entire story to be explained. Ennoshita's side and the Murder's side.

It was six o'clock in the evening, and there was still no sign of Nishinoya being well enough to leave soon.

"I...yeah. It's a lot. So, are they going to kill them?" Ennoshita replied, and his eyes fell on Tsukishima, who was still asleep with his head against the window, having been awake for only a little bit during the conversation to chime in.

"God, I hope not," Said Suga, rubbing his arms and looking at Nishinoya once again. "We're so close to getting them back. It could take one more day, but we're so close." He whispered, reaching up to straighten out the blanket covering Noya.

Ennoshita watched, and felt like it was something personal, like he shouldn't even be here. "I want to help." He said though.

"And you can do that by going home. Right now, while you still can." All eyes found Daichi, who had taken his place beside the door again for the majority of the conversation, guarding it.

"What?" Tanaka said, looking up. "No, didn't you hear us? The doctors were trying to kidnap him!"

"All the more reason for him to get away from here." Daichi replied. Tanaka stepped forward and Daichi did as well, the older male settling one hand on Ennoshita's shoulder. "I know you want to do something, that's what we're trying to do now. But you still have a life that you can go home to. And if you've been listening to anything we've said, you'll do what I'm telling you. Ennoshita, your life depends on it. I don't want you involved." He tried to reason.

Ennoshita, looking up into his eyes, shook his head. He briefly hesitated before speaking. "I know, but...but the things I've been seeing, can't they be connected to this? I haven't had a decent sleep since you disappeared. Why else would those doctors try to take me? If that's the case, then there's nowhere for me to go."

But Daichi was already shaking his head. "Even if that's true, you need to be far away from here. We're all lucky to be alive after that place. So many others die there every day, and I can't let you be one of them. Go home." Daichi commanded, and started to step toward the bed.

While the others could only sense it mildly, Suga knew that Daichi was getting frustrated. But he didn't have any time to try and help the situation.

"Daichi-san-"

"Ennoshita, I said go!" Daichi shouted at him, and his wings raised up, startling the younger boy into stepping back. Daichi's glare dropped, and he sighed, running his fingers back through his short hair. He faced away from the group and shook his head. "Tanaka, I trust you. Make sure he gets home, and if anything happens that threatens your safety, only then do you bring him back here, do you understand me?"

Tanaka hesitated, tempted to try and strike up an argument, only stopping when he felt the familiar hand of Suga on his shoulder. The older male's face held wisdom beyond his years. An exhausted wisdom beyond his years. Suga's eyes flickered between his and Ennoshita's, and a sympathetic grin found his face.

"Okay." Tanaka said, and Suga wrapped his arms around him in a brief hug, sensing the immense heartbreak that this was causing him. "I'm sorry." He whispered in his ear, and let go only to look at a blank expression. Even so, Tanaka's heart told a different story. Suga hugged Ennoshita next, carefully, slowly, afraid to scare him.

Ennoshita was slow to hug back, but he did, and Suga did not feel his chest rise and fall. Ennoshita was holding his breath, trying not to breathe, trying not to cry.

Suga didn't like the feeling that letting go gave him, but he watched Ennoshita say his goodbye to everyone in the room before he and Tanaka prepared to leave. Outside that door, the halls were silent. The entire floor except for their room had been cleared.

"B-Be careful, okay?" Suga warned, overtaken by an unsettling anxiety as the boys left the room. "Both of you."

_*_*_*_

[THE FACILITY, AFTERNOON]

"Sir, as much as I wish there were good news, it appears that the cabin subjects are showing increased signs of edge and stress. To be expected after we obtained the other three. However, the brainwaves of Subject W11 and W12 have begun to un-sync." The female doctor spoke.

In this room that the white coats sat in, there were numerous monitors, keyboards, tables and seats. The front most and the longest table was occupied by many of the adults, typing away and conversing quietly. The female doctor with her hair tied back and finger pointed at her own monitor, was currently explaining to Katsumata the state of the Winged Experiments.

She slid her finger down the screen of her monitor, where the the brain of Yamaguchi was at the far bottom. "See, it's apparent here that their neurological connection is weakening drastically, but their heart rates remain mostly in-sync. W11 is currently weaker than W12, however, and it seems to switch between the two as their brains try to maintain the link between their bodies. If you'll look over here, please..."

She rolled her chair over to the right a bit, close to that of another doctor, where the monitor with their heart rates were displayed. "W11's heart rate is slower than that of W12's. Six days ago they had dropped out of sync almost immediately. But over the past week, they've been slowly matching up again. They're coming to us, Sir."

Katsumata, arms crossed over his chest, hummed as he looked over the heart rates. He knew very well that they were not going to listen to his warning. A small bit of him wondered if they would have, but he knew they were stubborn. W1 was always found to be one of the most tenacious, the best to lead others.

Of course, there was never any intention to drain W10's blood over them following behind. That was simply another piece of their test. Katsumata knew he would be a fool to dispose of something so valuable such as Subject W10.

"That isn't all." He snapped out of it and followed her back over to the brain monitor. She swiped her finger across the screen, bringing up a new layer of images that fell over the brains, showing more detail.

She tapped on the brain of Subject W4, enlarging Nishinoya's brain. "Recently, W4 suffered head trauma--and it was around that time that the stress levels increased more--from some sort of hard object. Now, we've tracked them all to Hospital 34 and we've been informed that they are seeking treatment for W4's injuries. The damage is minor, but it had suffered a seizure as a result."

Katsumata was frowning now, and he pinched the bridge of his nose, causing the doctor to sheepishly look away as if it were her fault.

The voice of another doctor called from the other side of the room. "Sir?"

"For God's sake, does it get any more ridiculous than this?" The man huffed, and walked over to the waiting man, who cleared his throat.

"The group has come into direct contact with Subject W6. At the hospital. We've-"

The door to the room burst open, revealing another doctor, his glasses slipping off of his nose, clearly having run here. "Doctor Katsumata, there's something you need to see."

_*_*_*_

"Do it again, W10. Phase Three as you did before."

Hinata sat at a small white table on the right side of a square room. The room itself was white, he recognized it as one of the numerous testing rooms he had been in after he awoke from his coma. The white cords hooked up to his head trailed all the way toward the back of the room, leading through a small hole in the wall underneath the signature rectangular mirror.

Hinata had curled his wings around himself, hugging himself with his arms as he felt the eyes of all the doctors on him. On the left side of the room, a doctor sat at an identical table to the one he sat at alone, watching him with his clipboard, waiting patiently for him to replicate what he did before.

Hinata was smart. He knew there was no point in arguing. That was something he learned from Suga.

_'When they tell you to do something, you need to do it. It's for your own safety. And the faster you do, the quicker you can get back to the Nest, okay?'_

The boy heeded those words now more than ever. The sound of Suga's voice in his head made him want to hide away with his tears, but he would do no such thing. Hinata straightened himself up, retreating his wings behind him and settling his hands on the table.

_'Okay, Phase Three. Phase Three, just like before. Do it right like last time.'_ He thought, and took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

Phase Three was probably the least physically draining of the tests. They'd began yesterday, and already he'd made so much progress. The white coats practically foamed at the mouth for him, and if Hinata weren't used to it by now, it'd make him feel sick.

Phase One was the painful one, testing his healing ability. It consisted of Hinata receiving small cuts and seeing how quickly his body healed them. They never cut too deep, but that didn't make it any less uncomfortable. Phase Two examined his heating ability, which he'd mentioned to Katsumata during his inspection. Hinata hadn't even known he could do it when he heated up in Akaashi's arms. But he'd done it again. He didn't get hot enough to glow the first time, but today he became a light just as before, sitting in a heat-proof tank.

And now Phase Three.

It was silent, the White Coats knew it needed to be that way. Hinata needed to concentrate.

His body, where his body was, and where he wanted to go. He certainly didn't want to go to that other table, but for the sake of the experiment, he focused on that empty seat. It took under a minute for him to get it, under a minute for him to feel like he wasn't here or anywhere. Under a minute for there to be no sound, no ground, no air.

And then it was all back, he felt the seat underneath him.

When he opened his eyes, he was on the left side of the room, staring the doctor in the face.

"Remarkable." The man said, and began to scribble something down again. Hinata sighed softly, bringing his hand to his aching head. He didn't know how much more he could take, but he was afraid to say anything.

After a few minutes of a gratefully-taken break, Hinata was sitting at the same table, directed to teleport back to the right side of the room.

The doctors behind the glass watched, including Katsumata, whose interest was peaked the moment Hinata was mentioned. He watched with stoic, intrigued eyes, his gaze never leaving the red-headed boy. He'd never seen anything like it, and excitement arose in his chest at the sight of seeing the boy still able to function afterward. Other attempts to get experiments to teleport had ended in pure exhaustion and failure. And yet, Hinata could still move, could still _breathe_.

He watched as the experiment tried to repeat the action of teleportation.

This time the lights flickered, and Hinata began to tremble. Then Hinata was gone, and the lights stopped flickering. Instinctively, everyone looked to the empty table where they expected him to be. But he was not there.

_*_*_*_

Hinata's feet pattered swiftly across the floor, his thoughts lacking the fear of slipping. He didn't know how he'd made it out of that room, he'd only just gotten teleportation down. But the moment he disappeared from that room, he felt the coolness of linoleum floors seeping through the thin material of his socks.

Fear had settled in when he looked around and found himself in what seemed like an abandoned section of the building. It was silent here, colder. Here the white walls were graying with age, and the floors had thin cracks in them. The lights even had a gray tint themselves, flickering as he ran past them.

"Hello?! I-I didn't mean to do it, I didn't mean to!" He cried out, fear of punishment starting to weigh down every other instinct he had. Hinata rounded a corner, and the corner was familiar, near to the Nest. But that didn't make sense to him, he swore he'd never seen the building this way before.

Hinata skidded to a quick stop, grabbing the wall for support. His breath caught and his wings were tense while simultaneously feeling like they weighed a ton. Blocking Hinata's way was a boy with his back to him. He was tall, towering over Hinata, and a long scaly tail protruded from his lower back. Hinata was reluctant to move, as he recognized that scent all over Kuroo when he was brought into the Hospital Ward.

Hinata's feathers were ruffled, but his wings were kept tightly to his back as he inwardly desired to crawl away into a corner and wait for the doctors to find him, which they surely would with all these cameras around. Hinata let out a soft whimper, and the boy in front of him straightened out, having heard him.

Hinata felt himself starting to back away, intending to keep running the other way. But then the boy turned around fully, and Hinata let out a scream as his eyes found the gaping hole where his throat should have been.

The image before him flickered, flickered to a brighter version where the mutilated reptilian boy was not there. The boy was coming toward him and he opened his mouth, looking like he was trying to say something to him. Hinata was stepping back more, blinking as the world around him seemed to be trying to whisk itself away.

Right as the reptilian boy was about to touch him, Hinata stumbled backwards and landed on the cold floor underneath him, whimpering and gasping in horror as the real world came back in an instant. He was desperately raking in breath after breath, hands trembling, body quaking as if his bones were trying to shake his flesh loose.

"W10!" The familiar voice of Katsumata called, and though Hinata heard him, he made no moves to get closer or get away. "D-Didn't--I didn't mean to...!"

The man, as well as multiple doctors made their way to him, and their professional chatter fell upon deaf ears as Kastumata took him by the arms. "Where did you go, W10, tell me!" He pushed, and Hinata flinched at his urgent tone. The boy was looking everywhere else, still trying uselessly to calm down. But his energy was so depleted that he felt his body starting to get heavier.

At the sight of him swaying, Katsumata slipped an arm under Hinata's legs and around his lower back, lifting him with ease and starting to carry him down the halls.

"Sir, they couldn't see the subject with infrared until it started to return. I believe it traveled beyond our current understand. We need more information, this--this is phenomenal, Dr. Katsumata."

Katsumata looked down at the fading experiment in his arms, their gazes matching as Hinata looked around in obvious confusion. But he didn't squirm, so the man adjusted his hold on him, for the first time seeing him as a child. Not as a child he considered human. A child of whatever he had just created. A child of feathers. A child of new species that still had very far to go before it matured. A child of mystery and potential of unimaginable proportions, beyond anything the Doctor had spent his life picturing.

"Where did you go, W10?" He whispered to him, only audible over the chatter behind them because of their closeness. Hinata was gazing up at him with foggy eyes, refusing to cling to him and only staring in what the man assumed was disdain. It bothered him none.

"Please...take me to Kageyama. I-I want Kageyama." Hinata whispered, and his eyes sparkled with fresh tears as he averted his gaze, clutching the front of his own shirt in both hands.

"I want Kageyama..."

When Katsumata carried Hinata past the Nest window, Yamaguchi looked up from what he was sketching, eyes widening as he watching them pass for only a few seconds. His eyes only got to meet Hinata's right before they were gone from his sights. 

_*_*_*_

[THE DUO, EVENING]

Did they stall? Yes, of course they stalled. They stalled until it was just dark enough for them to be able to move unseen to Ennoshita's house.

Tanaka peered up at the other's bedroom window with contempt, for it wasn't the one of _home_, wasn't the one he climbed through numerous times. His frustration toward Daichi was only returning now that the last moments were finally upon him. The neighborhood was relatively quiet for early evening.

'Perfect for those doctors to have waited until we got here to strike.'

Tanaka still didn't think it was right to turn Ennoshita away. Part of him could acknowledge that he was biased because of his heart's desire. He knew it was selfish to want to wrap his arms around Ennoshita and never let go again. But how could he want to leave him? There was so much that they needed to say to each other, so much that they deserved to be able to say.

But they needed time, too. Time that they didn't have and couldn't afford to have.

"You're still down there?" He heard Ennoshita say from above, and though it was a genuine question, there was audible relief laced into it. Tanaka forced himself to smirk. 

"Figured I'd call to you. Like the play."

Ennoshita leaned his arms on the window sill. "Rapunzel? You still remember that? I dragged you to that in our first year." He raised a brow, but he was grinning.

Tanaka outstretched an arm dramatically, pressing his other hand to his chest. "Let down your hair." He said in a mock theatrical voice, and Ennoshita smiled endearingly, shaking his head because these were the moments they missed out on this past year. The moments he never knew and missed.

"Come up here." He told him, and Tanaka's smirk widened. Ennoshita stepped back just as the other's wings started to unfurl.

Tanaka easily gave one small flap, rustling the trees nearby, and grasped onto the bottom and the top of the window sill so he could perch his knee beside his hand. Curling his wings against his back, he ducked into the room and left the window open in case he needed a quick escape. He was briefly reminded of diving out to follow Akaashi and Hinata that night.

"I hope you know I'm never saying that agai-" His words were cut off when Ennoshita's lips collided firmly with his own, tugging him forward and only slightly down. Ennoshita slipped his arms around his neck as if to keep him from pulling away, and when his wrist brushed against the top of a wing, the ruffled up feathers tickled his skin. He was ever mindful of the empty house.

His heart warmed to feel Tanaka kiss him back, slowly with apprehension, and then with confidence as his arms snaked around him and held him there just as desperately as he held him. It had been so long, but they were familiar to one another, as if they were truly two sides to one coin. Tanaka kissed him like there was nowhere else for him to be, kissed him like he did before, like the threat of his cruel father and Ennoshita's disapproving parents were unimportant, couldn't touch them.

Still holding him, Tanaka stepped further into the room, captured by the heat of the moment before stopping and pulling his lips away to speak, only for them to find Ennoshita's again.

"Stop-" He tried to say, and again he found himself uselessly just kissing back before he really used all his strength to pull away from the kiss. "Stop, stop, stop...stop it..." He whispered, and their foreheads met, Ennoshita tipping his head up to brush their lips against each other.

Tanaka felt his breath waft so perfectly over his lips, and almost leaned in again, having to will himself not to. Ennoshita was clinging to him, neither opening their eyes. "Why..."

"I can't do this, I'm not supposed to be in here."

"Because _he _says you aren't." Ennoshita said impatiently, but the harsh tone faded with sadness. "_I'm_ the one who shouldn't be here. I want to stay _with_ you, not where you aren't."

Those words were like a stab wound to Tanaka's chest. "I've killed."

"So what?"

Tanaka opened his eyes then, and gazed into the brilliant brown that the other owned. "You're crazy, did you hear me? I've killed people, and I'd do it again."

"You say that like you did it for fun. You had to survive, that's what you guys told me. What you did for Yamaguchi..." Tanaka almost winced. "That wasn't for fun, was it?"

Confronted with silence and Tanaka averting his gaze, Ennoshita pulled a hand down to his cheek, right as Tanaka spoke again. "We're monsters. You should be running in the other direction like anyone with some fucking brains." Tanaka hissed, but let their gazes meet again. He didn't remember ever receiving such a tender touch from him. The only person who touched him anything close to this softly was Suga.

"Should be. But I'm not. Not of my own free will."

Tanaka briefly had a thought. _'Run,'_ his mind urged. _'Run away, run back to that hospital and make Daichi-san let him stay.'_

This time he was the one to inch closer, letting their lips touch somberly, molding together in the sweet goodbye of one last kiss. Last kiss. Tanaka had always picture a pretty girl when thinking something like that.

He never would have imagined this, but saying he preferred Chikara to even Kiyoko sounded about right. But this life didn't. It was almost fantastical the way their paths were reunited. It was like someone was writing this torturous story word by word, sentence by sentence, chapter by chapter as if it were all some game to them to twist their lives around.

Surely no one was that cruel, right?

Their kiss was cut short when they heard the sound of clattering outside the door. Ennoshita turned to face the door, startled, and Tanaka's arms were left cold without him.

"Are your parents home?" He asked, and it felt a little ironic that he was the one asking this time. Ennoshita shook his head. "They shouldn't be." He said as he cautiously approached the closed door. Tanaka was tempted to follow, but stayed, backing up closer to the window that he'd left ajar. 

As the door slowly opened, Tanaka had small flashbacks of his father opening the door slowly. He pictured that now, expecting to see his furious eyes ready to scorch him with their hateful gaze. But there was nothing but a dark mouth. Before he could protest, Ennoshita disappeared into the dark, and Tanaka felt only a bit eased as his father was not there.

But that noise, what was it? If it wasn't Ennoshita's parents, then it definitely could have been...

"Chikara!" Tanaka called out, forgetting about his volume. The thought terrified him, the fact that he had the thought terrified him.

'Waiting until his parents aren't home, it'd be perfect!' Tanaka darted out of the room, and as he was about to call a second time, Ennoshita's scent washed over him warmly, reassuringly.

"What? There's no one here. It was my dad's office." Ennoshita said in a matter-of-fact tone, but Tanaka was peering around him, breathing heavily with a panic refusing to subside. "Relax, okay?" Chikara began to walk down the hall, and Tanaka followed, trusting that Ennoshita knew what he was talking about. But he never let his guard down.

Farther down the hall was a room with two transparent doors, easily Mr. Ennoshita's office. When Ennoshita turned on the light, it was clear that a box had fallen off the top of a book shelf. The room wasn't as big as Tanaka initially pictured, nothing but a desk, book shelves on either side of the room, and a computer. There were boxes tucked on top of each shelf.

Ennoshita hummed, immediately going to scoop up the box that had spilled its contents: mostly paper and a few folders, but everything had slid almost ridiculously across the floor.

Tanaka tried, but he simply could not admire how laid back the other was about the situation. A box falls over but no one touched it. Tanaka found himself checking behind the desk, checking the lock on the window behind that, and peeking out of the room as Chikara dealt with the box's contents. Ennoshita watched him curiously, but kept his mouth shut and diverted his attention back to the box as he began to close it up. Right as he was about to stand, he caught sight of another box through the gap between the wood paneling of the back of the desk.

Sliding the other box aside curiously, he crawled around to the other side of the desk and pushed his father's chair out from under it. Taking up most of the foot space was a box that had been at some point taped up, but was half-heartedly tucked closed.

Now, Ennoshita was a good boy. Key word being "was." He hadn't been a whole-heartedly good boy in a year. So, with curiosity ruling over, he pulled the box out from under the desk and sat back to look through it. The first few documents were things like bills and such. Just boring adult stuff, he imagined--not that being a third year in high school didn't have its boring moments. He went deeper into the box, finding only more things about bills. Just as he was about to give up his sneak through his father's things, Ennoshita stumbled upon a manila folder.

"What...?" He whispered, setting the papers aside and squinting at what he saw.

**ENNOSHITA CHIKARA-AGE 16-18** was written boldly in black marker, over what looked to be some sort of numbers. Now he was curious. He picked up the box and set it on the clean desk, catching the attention of Tanaka, who had taken to staring out into the hall. "What's that?" He asked, receiving a shrug.

Ennoshita pulled the folder out, finding that it was thick and heavy. When he opened it, he started to frown. In the upper right corner of the left page was a picture of him from his first year of high school.

**-SUBJECT W6 WAS ENROLLED IN KARASUNO HIGH SCHOOL ON... WITHOUT ISSUE**   
**-SUBJECT W6 ADVANCED TO ITS SECOND YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL WITH STRAIGHT A'S AND B'S**   
**-SUBJECT W6 WAS FOUND TO BE HAVING SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH SUBJECT W4, WILL BE PUNISHED AS SEEN FIT**   
**-CARETAKERS HAVE MOVED THE SUBJECT TO TOKYO, JAPAN TO BE CLOSER TO HOSPITAL 34 IN CASE OF MALFUNCTION OR MELTDOWN**   
**-SUBJECT W6 SUFFERING NIGHT TERRORS, OUTBURSTS AND ABSURD ENERGY DRINK INTAKE**   
**-SUBJECT W6 TO BE MOVE TO FACILITY A AS ON THE DATE OF _12/13_, ALONG WITH THE OTHERS IN THE PROGRAM**

That date...today.

"What the hell is this?" He muttered, sifting through the pages in the folder. There were many things about him in it. From his first year of high school, to his high school accomplishments, to what happened with Tanaka last year. But he still didn't understand. He lifted the folder out and set it aside, pulling out the one that was underneath it.

This one held information on his middle school years. The more Ennoshita read, the more anxious and confused he became. He couldn't believe the things he read, let alone that his father had information on where he went with friends after school.

The next folder was filled with more than the others.

**SUBJECT W6-3-8-9-11-1-18-1- AGE 5-10**

Drawings, colorful scribbles of a child, and yet there were documents here about progressive speech, heightened awareness, and dreams about things that he would see the next day. Visions.

**AT AGE SEVEN, THE SUBJECT HAS CEASED HAVING VISIONS. WILL MONITOR CLOSER FOR ANY CONTINUATION.**

By the time Ennoshita got to the last folder, his hands were nearly shaking.

**SUBJECT W6-3-8-9-11-1-18-1- AGE INFANCY-4**

**Caretakers: Dr. Hideki Ennoshita and Dr. Haru Ennoshita(Married)**

**On the date of _3/26/1995_, both caretakers donated their DNA for the creation of Subject W6, the first artificially incubated child born to FACILITY A**

Below were the signatures of his parents. His hands were truly shaking now, and he hadn't noticed Tanaka coming to stand on the other side, looking through the other folders with expression nothing short of horrified. "Chi...?"

**Even in the artificial incubator, WOMB, the subject demonstrated being able to hear voices and comprehend the faces of those around it.**   
**On _4/5/1995_, the subject observed its "mother" blinking, and blinked back.**

**On _9/18/1995_, it was decided that with the subject displaying higher intelligence(following the movement that it saw through the WOMB and mimicking other movements), it would not become a part of the WINGED PROJECT, instead be sought to become a being of higher intellect and intelligence for future use.**

"Oh my God. I-I'm a-"

"Chikara?"

The boys both looked up, freezing in place at the sight of Mr. Ennoshita, holding his briefcase in one hand and his white coat over the other. "What are you doing in here?"

Ennoshita didn't know what to say as first, and when the man's eyes found Tanaka, he didn't say a word. He didn't even look surprised.

"Dad...What the hell is this?" Ennoshita asked just above a whisper, watching the man hang up his coat with an exasperated sigh. "You weren't supposed to see any of that. You know better than to go through my things."

"Dad, am I an experiment?"

Tanaka flinched at the word, back pressed against the window as he watched Mr. Ennoshita start to near the desk. "Go to your room." The man said as he started to gather up the folders with a solemn expression. Chikara pulled his arm back and smacked everything out of his hands, scattering folders and paper all over the desk and across the room.

"AM I A FUCKING EXPERIMENT?!" Chikara grabbed his father by the collar, yanking him close so he could look into his eyes. "AM I AN EXPERIMENT?!"

The man's eyes widened and the boy could almost hear it now: **"****Subject W6 had an outburst and attacked its caretaker."**

The man took a breath, and reached a hand up to cup his son's cheek, with eyes so sad that Ennoshita questioned what was happening.

"I could never have told you."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ!!!:
> 
> I MADE A TUMBLR FOR THIS SERIES! IT'S NOT MUCH RIGHT NOW, BUT I WANT TO STAY MORE IN TOUCH WITH MY READERS AND ANSWER QUESTIONS AND STUFF IF YOU HAVE THEM! ALSO FANART! IT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME THAT ANYONE WOULD WANT TO DRAW MY STORY, BUT MY HEART WARMS AT THE FACT THAT I WAS ASKED ABOUT IT IN THE COMMENTS!
> 
> THE URL IS: feathered-haikyuu-au-series
> 
> BEAR WITH ME, IT ISN'T MUCH RIGHT NOW AND I'M STILL FIGURING IT OUT, BUT I REALLY HOPE TO SPREAD THIS SERIES MORE AND ALSO FANART, WHICH CAN BE POSTED TO THE PAGE! IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THEM, THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK, NOW ENJOY THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE IT'S A DOOZIE-

**[THE ENNOSHITA HOUSEHOLD]**

Mr. Ennoshita's gaze rolled over to Tanaka once more. "None of this was what we intended. It was all supposed to be different."

"Different?! I'm a lab rat!" Ennoshita gave his father a shake and let go of him, stepping back until he nudged the other boy. "And I've been one this whole time! You lied to me!"

The man sighed, running a hand through his hair. Even now, there was despair in his eyes, and Ennoshita didn't understand it. What would a white coat have to be sad about? Inwardly, he was still in shock, trying to find words that weren't there, words that were running from him as all of his emotions exhausted him. But truthfully, he wasn't as angry as he should have been.

"The year you were born, your mother and I were selected for the WOMB program after our DNA was the most eligible for a successful child." Mr. Ennoshita started to speak, plucking his glasses from his face and pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to relieve the pressure. "Your mother and I had met working with this same corporation that gave you to us. But I wouldn't be surprised if they planned for us to be together. When we were assigned to you, I saw it as it was intended. Another experiment. But your mother, that woman..." The man reached down, running his fingers over a drawing from his son's elementary folder.

"She was excited. She saw us being given a child to raise. To love. When you came out of the WOMB, she called you "he" in secret. But I think she loved you before any of that. The moment we were introduced to the program, she loved whoever she thought the child would be. Ours, I suppose." He watched his son take a step closer, watching that face that was half his own and half his wife's. Perfect.

"You don't have to listen to me, Chikara, but I want to tell you. And you can decide whether or not you want to believe me. Is that fair?" He asked, hope living in his eyes.

Tanaka was tempted to intervene, feeling exposed, alert as if they were being cornered. He'd felt that too many times trying to run from an experiment. But the boy in front of him wasn't moving to run. Maybe that was Ennoshita being naive because the doctor in front of them was his father. But now Tanaka refused to leave without him. He couldn't, not after what they just found out. It wasn't safe. _'This dangerous enough for you, Daichi?'_ He wondered mockingly.

Ennoshita was nodding, and Tanaka felt himself holding his breath. Mr. Ennoshita released his own. "We brought you home when you were one year old. Before that though, we only saw you during tests. We took care of everything that had to do with you. We were always there. We would go home without you, and your mother was so sad. Lonely, even when I told her to get over it because you were never meant to be a child, let alone our own." The man averted his guilt-stricken gaze the moment he watched Chikara's eyes well with tears.

"Dr. Katsumata, the head doctor, communicated an update, we agreed that we would take you home to monitor you closer. We wanted to see how a home life would make you different from those of the Winged Project. Your friends. But later that next year, they were all relocated by a foolish man. He died for it."

Tanaka zoned into the conversation more at the mention of the man who saved them. No matter how angry he was that they were taken back anyways, he would forever be grateful for the entirety of his life that he spent away from those walls, all because a man saw the experiments as wrong. No, grateful was an understatement.

Tanaka held Chikara's shoulder, subconsciously trying to keep him from getting closer.

"In the Facility, you were Subject W6. You mother named you when we took you home to Miyagi Prefecture. The other doctors were aware of how she coddled you despite what she was told. But no one could stop her from holding you and telling you that she loved you after we got home. Certainly not me. You were to call me by my given name, and I you, but you called her mother. I wanted to keep everything the way it was intended to be. Every month we took you back to Facility A for evaluations, and every month you greeted everyone, saying you were Chikara." The man chuckled, shaking his head. "When they frowned at you, you clung to your mother."

Chikara's heart ached as memories began to flicker in his mind. Gazing up at tall adults in white coats, holding onto an identical white coat every time he became shy.

"I was disappointed in you and your mother, especially when you started to resist tests. She was turning you into a child. You were "losing your touch," as one would say. You wouldn't cooperate unless she was there, and even then, you would only make correct predictions half the time. You always wanted to go home. They saw us as unfit and were trying to take you, and you and your mother became hysterical. I stepped in, told them I would fix you. And they trusted me to do so. But I couldn't listen to her cry that way." The man gathered the scattered papers on the desk as he went on to explain how Chikara reacted to seeing him step in.

He tapped the papers on the desk, and left them there in a stack. "Even as a one year old, you understood things that others didn't. You understood that I did not want to give you love, and that you weren't to expect it from me. But your mother told you I was your father, and that set everything off course. For the first week after we were allowed to keep you, she tried treating you the way I did. Not holding you, singing to you, or loving you. But you cried, pulled on her clothes for days, calling for her until she broke. I saw then how she attached herself to you. You were two years old when you addressed me as your father for the first time." Hideki Ennoshita was smiling now, and there were tears rolling down his cheeks.

"You were sitting on the floor of my office, coloring everything you thought was going to happen. You were gifted there, telling me which watch I would wear, what not to say to your mother because if I went too far she was going to slap me that day." He tried uselessly to wipe his tears. They kept coming.

"I started to let you near me, in denial of wanting your company, what you had with your mother. You looked up at me, and you said..." The man sniffled, and Tanaka's eyebrows were furrowed. He had never seen a white coat cry. But then again, he had never seen one look so guilty, or heard that one raised a child with anything close to love. "You said, "Daddy, look" and you were smiling. I couldn't keep it up past a year. Look at me, Chikara."

The man reached out and Ennoshita, who was crying his own tears and reluctantly stepped around the desk, allowing his father to take him into his arms. "I loved you after that. I let myself love you because the whole time I just didn't want to. But I needed you because you're my son." The man pulled away, looking into his eyes.

"They've started to change their minds, Chikara. We stopped taking you back, so you could eventually forget. But today you were supposed to go back with the other kids in that program. I don't know how you got away, but I'm glad you did."

Chikara was shaking his head in confusion, letting the man wipe away his tears. "D-Dad, why'd they try to take me? We barely got away, what's going on?" He whispered, closing his eyes and letting more tears escape.

"They're ready for you. Ready for you to be their weapon, Chikara. I thought I couldn't stop it this morning. All these years they've been thinking your mother and I have been on board. But we don't want them near you. They want to change you into-" The man swallowed, looking over to the other boy. Chikara turned around to look at Tanaka, who stepped back at the eyes on him. Chikara shook his head. "That? They want to do _that_ to me?" He turned back to his father and the man's eyes were looking into his own again.

"Listen to me. I want you to go into your room and pack a bag, all the clothes you can fit. Your mother will be home in a few minutes, and we're leaving then. Far away from here."

"That won't work," Tanaka spoke up, voice small until he cleared his throat. "They're after us now. But you know that."

Mr. Ennoshita sighed, and wiped away his tears, nodding. "I do." He reached up and cupped his son's face. "Run, Chikara. Go with them and never come back here. You all need to get as far as you can. Never stop running if that's what it takes."

Chikara felt differently now. How could he have ever wanted to leave his loving home after all that had happened? He couldn't believe how willing he was earlier, how ready he was to abandon his own life. He was shaking his head now, but his father was hugging him, whispering to him. "It doesn't matter how we got you, you will always be our son, Chikara. Now go. Take whatever you need."

As Mr. Ennoshita ushered his son out of the room, Tanaka was quick to follow. "You protect him, Ryunosuke. He can't protect himself the way the rest of you can." Tanaka was taken aback by those words, but he was nodding. "Okay."

Chikara did as he was told, packing up clothes and his journal in a bag, and a few other things he didn't want to leave behind. The whole time, he was silent while Tanaka waited anxiously in the doorway, almost feeling guilty about wanting to keep him. But this qualified as a threat to their safety, it was a no-brainer. And Tanaka's next question was that if Ennoshita stayed here, would he be gone by tomorrow morning? Because he escaped capture the first time? They knew where he was, why wouldn't they come get him?

"Ryu." Tanaka snapped out of it when he heard Chikara's voice, and was going to reply when the other male hugged him, resting his chin on his shoulder. "Do you still want me to come with you?"

Tanaka hugged back, and he tried his best to let his guilt melt away. "Why wouldn't I?"

"How can you stand being near me after hearing all that? I'm an experiment when I thought I wasn't."

Tanaka sighed. "Yeah. But we're all experiments, aren't we? Fuck those guys, Chi. Let's just go." He replied, and Chikara was hesitant to pull away, crying again. But when he looked at Tanaka and saw the seriousness on his face, he felt a little less shitty about everything he just learned. It was only temporary, but right now he would take whatever relief he could get.

"Let's get outta here."

Chikara should have felt something other than relief at hearing those words. But he couldn't feel anything but relief. He nodded, and finished packing up the things they needed, before the two of them walked back out into the hallway where Mr. Ennoshita was waiting. Tanaka waited behind, watching as the two shared one last hug. He still felt intrusive on their moment, but when Mr. Ennoshita was nearing him with open arms, the boy was flinching and taking only one step back before he was enveloped in a hug.

"I'm sorry, Ryunosuke. I'm sorry that I couldn't do more for all of you." He said steadily, and promptly let go so he could usher them down the stairs. He stopped near the front door and took another breath, solemn eyes rolling over them for one last time before he was opening the front door. He stopped.

There was a sharp noise, something clearly piercing quickly through flesh, and Mr. Ennoshita stumbled backwards, grunting in pain.

From behind, the boys could see the end of the knife poking through his mid back. Tanaka, jaw dropped, watched as Mr. Ennoshita fell to the side. His gaze turned slowly to the figures looming in the doorway, giant and familiar. The guards from the Facility. The ones that looked like _beasts_.

All of them wore snarling smiles, and Tanaka quickly tugged Ennoshita behind him despite the fact that he was trying to get to his father.

"Run, go, go, go--FUCK!" He shouted, and Ennoshita was crying, calling out to his father who lay dying slowly in a puddle of his own blood as the intruders rush into the house, stepping over him and leaving him in the house entrance. Tanaka pushed Ennoshita forward and they fled into the living room, running as fast as their legs could carry them.

_'FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, ESCAPE, RUN, GET OUT-'_ Tanaka kept a firm grip on his hand as they bolted around the couch. He paused and threw the coffee table back behind them, the furniture clashing hard into the legs of the closest beast chasing them, causing him to trip and crash into the floor. The floor rumbled beneath them. Four left.

_'GET HIM OUT, GET HIM OUT, DON'T LET THEM CATCH UP-'_

Ennoshita paused and grabbed hold of a standing lamp, and threw it straight into the face of the second beast, but that only helped so much when the man caught it and threw it back.

Everything happened so fast after that. Ennoshita had no idea how much of the house was destroyed with their dodging, running, and the beasts barreling past furniture like it was nothing. His heart pounded with adrenaline, with fear as Tanaka finally slammed the office doors behind them.

Ennoshita watched as Tanaka's hands took on a shiny metallic gray color, and he understood that this must have been the power that he told him about earlier. "Chi, get the desk over here! I can't hold it for long!" Tanaka called to him, but he didn't move. "Hey!"

"O-Okay, right!" Ennoshita called, and darted behind the desk to start pushing.

At the doors, Tanka pushed with all his might, but not too hard to force the doors off their hinges. If it was this easy for himself to push so hard they could break in the other direction, he didn't want to imagine how easy it would be for the beasts to push through from the outside. His stomach lurched as he saw them rushing up the stairs. There were only three out of the original five, Tanaka having managed to knock out two with a couple of solid metal punches to their heads.

"Move, I've got it!" Ennoshita called, and pushed harder once Tanaka was out of the way. The other male went for one of the file cabinets and dragged it over effortlessly right as the first beast to reach the door bashed his fist through the glass of it, forcing them back. Tanaka gave his hand a hard punch, making him growl and pull it back.

Ennoshita feverishly ran his hands through his hair. "That's not gonna work, what the hell do we do?!" He shouted. The beasts were backing up now, and when the first one was charging straight at the door, Tanaka grabbed Ennoshita by the back of his shirt and twirled him around to push him toward the window. Tanaka glanced over his shoulder as he slipped through first, keeping a foot on the window sill and a hand on the inside of the upper part to hold on. He reached out a hand.

Ennoshita stepped forward, jumping almost to the ceiling when he heard the desk being thrown all the way across the room. He looked back, and one beast who had glass in his arm was lifting the file cabinet over his head, preparing to throw it.

"CHIKARA!"

Tanaka grabbed Ennoshita again and pushed himself backwards out of the window, pulling Ennoshita out and just barely dodging the file cabinet as it smashed through the window and flew over their heads.

When they hit the ground, Tanaka broke Ennoshita's fall, having hardened his back to make it a little less painful of a landing.

They were hyperventilating, and Ennoshita had no time to recover from the fall before Tanaka was sitting them up and pulling him up to his feet. "Come on, we've gotta get outta here." He was telling him, and they were running around to the front. Ennoshita skidded to a stop and Tanaka caught him, cursing lowly at the sight of what was clearly a woman lying face down in the driveway, blood pooled around her and her body still.

"No... MOM!" Ennoshita tried to run to her, but Tanaka caught him, backing them away from the front door.

"You can't, man, we have to go!" He shouted, and Ennoshita only stopped struggling when beasts started to burst through the downstairs windows. The upstairs windows followed.

Tanaka knew then that if he didn't take the risk, they would either die or be dragged back to the Facility. He turned around and outstretched his wings. "Come on, hold onto me!" He directed, and Ennoshita didn't waste any time on latching onto his neck from behind and letting Tanaka lean them forward as if about to give him a piggyback ride.

Tanaka raised his wings and flapped, taking them into the sky and just barely out of reach of a beast that had been reaching for them. Ennoshita gasped, his heart pounding erratically against Tanaka's back. "R-Ryu...!"

"I've got you, just hang on!" Tanaka reassured, and he picked up the pace, curving his wings and taking them straight up, high into the clouds. Ennoshita dared himself to look down at the Earth below, and as it gradually retreated, he let out a soft cry and clung harder to Tanaka. His stomach felt like it was being jostled all around his body, his insides twisting and turning with the harsh reality that he had nowhere to go but right here way too far from the ground. His parents were gone, he was an experiment.

The wind whipped through his hair as Tanaka flew them back in the direction they came and toward the city, and Ennoshita could only hope that they were high enough to remain unseen. As the tears of grief rose to his eyes, Ennoshita lowered his head and tried to focus on the feathery wings underneath him as they glided through the sky. His tears were blown away, but he could care less.

He was a target. A target who had just gotten exactly what he wished for.

_*_*_*_

**[THE FACILITY]**

Yamaguchi's eyebrows were furrowed, fists clenched in concentration as he focused on the crate that he was trying to lift. He couldn't help that his mind was elsewhere after seeing Hinata today. Being alone in that room now was as suffocating as it was when everyone was in it.

Yamaguchi was trying, he really was, but he was distracted, and it showed.

"Enough." The white coat monitoring him commanded, and he relaxed, shoulders slumping and a tired breath blowing past his lips.

"This is unacceptable, W12. Are you even trying? Or are you holding out in the hopes that we'll leave you be?" The man chided, and Yamaguchi lowered his head, fiddling with his fingers shamefully. The truth was, he wasn't holding out. It sounded like a good idea, but he knew the consequences wouldn't be good.

"No, sir."

"Oh, is that so? I don't believe you. Should we have you locked in the closet for lying?"

Yamaguchi's eyes shot up to meet the man's, and he shook his head vigorously. "No, please! I'm not lying, I promise-"

"Then get to it! Focus like the good little machine you are!" The word machine hit Yamaguchi harder than it should have by now, but all he could think of was the voice of Kei telling him that he still mattered. Those sweet whispers when no one else could hear them. Telling him not to think little of himself like back at the hotel when he doubted himself. Before Yamaguchi knew it, tears had built up in his eyes, and he wiped at them, trying to hurry up and do as he was told.

_'Kei... God, I miss you. When are you coming, I wanna see you.'_ He thought, and his heart ached almost too much to bear. He took a shaky breath and sat upright in his chair, glancing to the doctor who was ready to write on his clipboard.

Yamaguchi turned back to the heavy metal crate, and started to focus again. He could feel its weight trying to power against him as if his brain itself was trying to lift it. It was more than just telling an object to move. It was picking it up with the arms of your own brain and holding it up to the sky, using the strength you had built over a year of training.

There was a dull pain in the front of his head, intense in his temples and wrapping around to the back of his head. The wires hooked up to his temples were surely picking up his struggle, but he tried not to think about it.

The crate began to shake, shifting a few inches at a time from the tremors. And then it started to rise, and Yamaguchi felt something new happen, like a door being opened for him. The crate only got a foot off the ground before it landed with a hard thud and Yamaguchi gasped, bringing a hand to his head and groaning in pain. He could hear the scratching of the doctor's pencil, and then his voice.

"I don't understand it. We push you the same as we push everything else. I can't even believe you're the same one that lifted eight other experiments in your sleep. When you can't even lift a box."

_'Crate,'_ Yamaguchi wanted to correct. _'A really heavy crate that I might be able to pick up with my hands. But my brain doesn't work.'_

"Even W11 is stronger than you. In fact, it very well may be the strongest among you all." Yamaguchi's tears returned at the mention of Kei. He remembered, Kei got into his head that night, and woke him up. That felt like ages ago.

"W10 is progressing quicker than you, as is W9. And here you are, still the weakest one we have. We have a hundred other experiments more capable than you." The words hit Yamaguchi hard, and he tried not to show it. The man shook his head. "I don't know why Dr. Katsumata keeps you. You're clearly worthless."

The man paused, watching as the crate shook again. His eyebrow raised, eyes flickering back to Yamaguchi, who was still hiding his face. "Useless." The box shook again.

"Pathetic." This time the box slid a few inches, and the man's eyes gained a spark of realization. Excitement. "You're a waste of time, and you know it. The least you could do is try to prove us wrong. But you're too weak!"

"I'm not weak." Yamaguchi replied, feathers ruffling and tears sliding down his cheeks. But weak was all he had been. A burden, a pain in the ass for his friends, for the only ones he had left. He'd slowed them down, hindered them. How could they want to come and get him back when their lives would be so much easier with him gone?

Why couldn't he be stronger?

Yamaguchi wanted to believe different. "I'm not." The table was shaking now, and the crate was shifting as the man continued hurling insults at him.

"Then show something different! Do something and quit being a waste of space, you goddamn good-for-nothing little-"

Yamaguchi's head raised sharply, and the crate shot at the man, who just barely managed to dodge. In a split second, the table flung at him, knocking him backwards and pinning him to the wall. A crater formed underneath his back from the impact, and he gagged, blood spurting out of his mouth and staining his lips red. His eyes bugged out, and his tongue lurched forward as if trying to escape his mouth entirely. He groaned hoarsely, and he tilted his head forward as the table constantly pushed harder against his chest.

Yamaguchi shook with a rage he had never felt before. It was overpowering, intense, and unwavering. He slowly stood up, and started to walk toward the doctor, whose eyes moved up to the flickering lights above them as he trembled. He looked down wide-eyed at the teenage boy before him, clad in his perfectly white pajamas and his growing hair that hadn't been cut after he arrived. His freckled that stood out even as he looked pale and sick. He looked like he could collapse, and yet those eyes never faltered.

Those eyes that had been overtaken by pitch black, as if he were a newborn crow and simultaneously a prehistoric one that had seen the cruelty in the world and was ready to give it back.

"You want to see weak?" Yamaguchi's voice was soft, like that of a ghost. "You want to see pathetic?" The wall cracked under the force of the man under the table that squished all of his innards and snapped his ribs like twigs. The veins around Yamaguchi's eyes were dark and unnaturally visible, and the doctor didn't know if that was because of the lack of color in his skin, or because of how thin he was.

But he was terrified. For the first time in his entire career, he was terrified of the experiment. And the experiment was no longer terrified of him.

Yamaguchi wrapped his hand around the man's throat, and started to push him into the wall with what was shocking ease and strength. The man choked, reaching up to grab at his hand, scratching to no avail as he watched the feathered masses on the teen's back start to raise.

"You play God in our lives like there's a God who gave you the right to do it. Now it's my turn." Yamaguchi pressed just a little harder, and the man was gasping, squeezing his frail wrist as if it would help. The wall was starting to cave in under him, bits of plaster falling around their feet as the lights flickered erratically.

"Look at me. Look at what you made me into." Yamaguchi whispered, and then screamed. "LOOK AT ME! I'M YOUR GOD NOW!" And the man burst through the wall behind him, taking the table with him and shooting so far and that he landed just feet over in the lab next door where a female white coat shrieked in horror.

As Yamaguchi watched doctors flood the other room, the lights in his own slowly stopped flickering, and his head gained a powerful ache that crippled him to his knees as he began to sob, wiping relentlessly at his bloodied nose. But the crimson just kept coming, staining his sleeve and his shirt as it dripped, leaking into his mouth. He heard the door open behind him and shoes rushing in, but heard the familiar voice of Katsumata give a soft "Wait."

"W12." Yamaguchi didn't turn around, shaking in fear as his nose continued to bleed. He crawled into the corner, facing away and cowering from the adults as he was shaking like a leaf, wings curling around himself. "W12, turn around and look at me. Yamaguchi shook his head, hiding away in the dark and covering his face as if that would make everything feel better.

"Please...please don't hurt me. I didn't mean to kill him, I didn't mean to kill him...!" He sobbed out, hardly resisting when he felt hands grabbing hold of his wings and shoulders and starting to drag him carefully out of the corner and to his feet. He much rather preferred to leave the room anyways.

Blood dripped endlessly from his nose, and when he was turned around to face Katsumata, his legs gave out and left it to the guards holding onto him to keep him up. "I-I'm s-s-sorry...sorry..."

But Katsumata was grinning at him. "You're progressing nicely. Come. You need to be cleaned up, and we'll give you some water. You've performed exquisitely."

Yamaguchi let his head loll to the side as the guards carried him out of the lab with his feet dragging over the floor. He was seeing stars, dizzy and in pain, afraid of the monster that he had finally become.

How could anyone who was still human ever have done what he just did?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALSO PLEASE READ!
> 
> Plans for a third book are OFFICIALLY underway! It will take place years from now!!!
> 
> How do you guys feel about a second generation in the third book? Thoughts? ;)
> 
> Love forever, Juicy~


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's about to go the fuck down.

**[THE FACILITY, EVENING]**

"Where is he?" Kageyama pressed, eyes fierce with rage. Katsumata wasn't reacting, shining a light into his left eye and more occupied with the examination. Kageyama's shirt was discarded beside him on the table, and his hands clutched the edge of said table as Katsumata pulled his jaw open.

"Subject W10 is currently being privately monitored after its incident. We need to understand where it stands before we can lure out its power once more."

"He stands against it! Take me to see him!" Kageyama demanded, and when Katsumata shot him a disapproving scowl, he averted his gaze.

"The answer is no, W9."

"Bullshit, I heard him calling for me."

Katsumata raised an eyebrow this time, Kageyama's words catching his interest. "Is that so?" Kageyama nodded. "From all the way in the Hospital Ward? It wasn't very loud."

Kageyama narrowed his eyes and his glare was solid, boring through the man's skull.

_'I said take me to Hinata. Do it.'_

Katsumata started to go still the moment he looked back into Kageyama's eyes. Only with Yamaguchi had he felt such intense power radiating from the experiment. The world around him became nothing, and the only things that seemed to exist now were that voice that was commanding him, and those determined eyes locked onto his own.

He heard Kageyama speak again, this time with his lips. "Take me to Hinata, now."

Kageyama was slipping his shirt back on, and once it was, Katsumata was stepping back from him. "Alright. I don't see why not." Kageyama sighed, prepared to relax, only to find that there was no pain this time. It was new, but he liked that.

He slid off of the table and followed the doctor out of the room, allowing himself to be led to a door that was reinforced from the outside with metal bolts along with the familiar card slot. Two guards stood on either side of the door, dart pistols on their hips, and their intrigued eyes set on Kageyama, who glared in return.

When Katsumata pushed his card into the slot and opened the door, the boy felt his legs go weak for a moment, before he rushed toward the center of the room in a panic. "Hinata!" He cried, but there was no answer to that cry.

Suspended in some sort of transparent blue fluid and encased in a tank that extended from the ceiling to ground, was Hinata. His red hair looked green, and his skin blue. He was bare of any clothing in this tank, eyes taken over by a milky white color, and those familiar white wires pressed onto his temples. There was a wire on each side of his chest, as well as some that disappeared behind his back. His wings were limp at his sides, partially curled around him(so as to fit) and thankfully curling around his lower half and obscuring that part from view.

But there was something else that alarmed Kageyama. There was a thick black cord that stemmed from the back of Hinata's head, and as Kageyama stepped around the circular tank, he could see that it was fastened, or plugged, rather, into the base of Hinata's head. It was long, the rest of it looping down and coiling up at the bottom of the tank.

"What are you doing to him?!" Kageyama roared out, and pounded his fist on the glass. "Hinata! Hinata, wake up! Goddammit, can't you hear me?" 

He turned around to face Katsumata, who was blinking out of his trance. But Kageyama didn't care. He charged up to him and grabbed him back his throat, eyes wide and emotional.

"What're you doing to him?" He asked, and Katsumata's eyes followed his rising wings. "TELL ME! IS HE ALIVE?!"

Hysterical was a good word for it, Katsumata figured, and by now he was completely out of his trance, still blinking and processing the fact that he was the one who had been controlled. His eyes wandered from Kageyama's, down to the dot scars on the sides of his neck from the collar.  
He reached subtly into his pocket as Kageyama screamed at him and started to squeeze his throat, and the moment that the boy was emotional and distracted, he plunged a syringe into the side of his neck, earning a cry of pain.

Kageyama let him go and stumbled backward into the tank, holding the side of his neck with eyes that showed nothing short of childlike fear. His legs buckled underneath him and he plopped down, and just that quickly the child was gone, his eyes gaining a hateful, inhuman glow of blue for just a moment.

And Katsumata felt his hatred. It was hot and yet it was so cold that it sent a chill down his spine. When Kageyama's eyes closed, the man let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. He didn't know why he'd expected him to resist the effects of the solution in the syringe, and brushed it off as a silly thought as he stepped over to the motionless boy. His heart was racing, and for the first time, he felt powerless. He crouched and pushed his left eyelid up. His eyes were still glowing, and Katsumata hummed.

A hand reached up and grabbed him by the throat, making him gasp as he was pushed so hard against the ground that the impact shook his vision. Kageyama was on top of him, both hands reaching down to squeeze his throat. The boy was grunting, eyes brighter than they had ever been, a rage unlike Katsumata had ever seen having taken over his face.

The man squirmed and gagged, struggling to throw the boy off of him. But then Kageyama's eyes rolled back, and he was collapsing to the side with a thud.

Katsumata gasped for air and scooted back away from the body, coughing. He swallowed and it hurt, and he sat there, finally acknowledging something that he hadn't wanted to. It was proved by his confirmed suspicion that Kageyama resisted the effects of the solution long enough to attack before he submitted.

They were slipping through his fingers. All of them were.

_*_*_*_

**[THE HOSPITAL, NIGHT]**

Daichi was starting to worry. Tanaka had been gone for too long, but maybe that was just his paranoia sinking in. Watching the doctors around Yuu certainly kick-started it. After listening to Tanaka and Enno's story earlier, he wanted to get everyone out of here as soon as possible. He had goosebumps as he sat in Tanaka's seat from before.

Even though Daichi was strong, he was in no way immune to fear. Even the smell of the place was similar, and that on its own made him want to flee. When the doctors didn't panic at the sight of Nishinoya's wings, Daichi knew that they had set foot in the wrong place. But it was too late to dwell on that now. The doctors had approached him a few minutes ago, expressing that they were going to keep Nishinoya overnight despite Daichi's threats because it was in his "best interest." Yeah, right.

Daichi shifted his right foot to cross over his left leg, and his gaze fell on Asahi, who had fallen asleep. Suga was still wide awake, and interestingly enough, Tsukishima's eyes were open as well, leaving just Asahi and Akaashi resting.

But Daichi could barely look at him. The blond's eyes had the darkest bags underneath them, and his features were still as gaunt as before, like he was losing three pounds every day. As a matter of fact, he _was_ thinner. Of course Daichi noticed, but he never really processed it with everything that was going on. It made him feel guilty, so he reached over into his bag and pulled out a water bottle.

"Here, Tsukishima," he said, and walked over to give it to him. "You need to stay hydrated more than any of us." The blond looked up at him, and Daichi felt for the first time his overwhelming misery, and almost faltered. "Come on, buddy." He insisted, and Tsukishima's hand reached through the wings that were wrapped around himself to take it. His hand was shaky, Daichi gently took hold of it to put the water bottle in his palm.

Tsukishima held the bottle in his lap, muttering a hoarse thanks. Daichi nodded, but he didn't feel satisfied. "How are you...holding up?" He asked, and Tsukishima didn't look up. "We need to go."

"I'm working on it. We can't leave without Tanaka." Daichi replied, and he watched Tsukishima sip from his water bottle.

"He's so far away." He said lowly, and Daichi felt another wave of guilt wack him in the face. "He's angry, and scared. Lonely." The blond was whispering now. Daichi didn't have to ask who he was talking about.

"We're going to get them out, Tsukishima. We just have to wait for Tanaka."

It was then that Suga stood up, looking distressed. "But he should've been back by now!"

It was then that something fast crashed through the window, sticking a perfect, balanced landing on the floor. Asahi and Akaashi jumped awake, and Nishinoya's eyes opened widely.

"T-Tanaka? What the hell?" Asked Daichi, but Suga was already on the boy, checking him. He had a few bruises on his face, bruises that weren't there before.

Tanaka pushed his hands away, clearly frazzled. "Guys, we gotta get the fuck outta here!" He said, rushing toward the bed to pull the covers down off of Noya, revealing his hospital gown.

"Why? Wh-What's going on?" Asked Asahi, whose eyes were wide from the scare. Tanaka barely looked at him, lifting Noya bridal style and heading toward the broken, gaping window.

Daichi grabbed his shoulder. "Tanaka, what the hell are you talking about?" He pressed, searching the boy's expression for an answer. But he could feel it, something was horribly wrong.

"This place--It's one of their fucking places, they run this hospital! We need to get to the car, come on!" Before anyone could ask further questions, Tanaka dove out of the window, unfurling his wings and gliding toward the parking lot with Noya in his grasp.

No one moved at first, but then Daichi moved to grab up his bag. They could hear voices outside of the door, and that was when they all started to leap through the window, gliding and following Tanaka. Just as Daichi was going last, the door opened behind him. Once they all made it quickly down to the parking lot, he saw Ennoshita waiting beside it. Thankfully it was late and there weren't many people in the parking lot.

When Daichi's feet graced the ground, he stood in front of Chikara. He was about to ask why he was there, but the look on his face... It was so grim, so full of grief... He'd clearly been crying while he was down here alone, for he was still dripping with tears now. Daichi definitely wouldn't ask, not now. He trusted Tanaka enough to know that if he did something, it would be whatever the right thing was under the circumstances.

"Everybody in." Daichi ordered, unlocking the car and climbing into the driver seat. Koushi looked up in time to see people rushing around in their hospital room, having found the room empty. He sat in the passenger seat and let Daichi pull them out of the parking lot.

No one said anything until they were in traffic. When they came to a light, Noya's voice croaked out low words. "What'd I miss...? Was that a hospital?"

Suga heaved a relieved sigh and turned around in his seat to look directly at Noya, whose head was resting against Asahi's shoulder in the second row. In the third, Akaashi and Tsukishima sat, and Suga had yet to ask why Ennoshita was in the back with Tanaka, when he wasn't even supposed to be in the car period.

"Yeah. We'll talk about it in a little while. We're just glad you're awake, Noya." He told Nishinoya, whose wings drooped as his eyelids did. He looked like he could barely hold on, and that became truth when he closed his eyes and dozed off against Asahi, who sat stiffly, clearly afraid to move him, and still shaken up by the sudden awakening back at the hospital.

Suga chuckled a bit at the irony, and let his gaze fall on Tanaka and Ennoshita in the back. Tanaka was holding him, and they were still, silent. Suga decided that now was not the time to ask Tanaka how he knew about the hospital. Perhaps he'd just figured it out because all the signs were there. Suga was going to accept that. He took one last glance behind them, relieved that no cars had followed.

For hours they only drove. When they stopped for gas the first time, Tanaka reluctantly explained the ordeal with Ennoshita's father, and the things that they had been told. Ennoshita was asleep, to Suga's relief. It was around two in the morning when everyone except for Daichi and himself were asleep.

"We're gonna need a bigger car." He told Daichi, glancing over to him in the dark. The area they drove in now was barren, desert-like, nothing but dirt and mountains around for miles. Driving away from the city, this was what he expected. They were so close, he could almost feel Shouyo in his arms again. He could almost feel Tobio and Tadashi. He planned to absolutely squeeze each of them when he got a hold of them, believe that.

Daichi considered it for a moment. "Yeah. We're gonna be driving a lot of people. We should find a second one, make travel easier. That way if we need a diversion while being chased, we can split up." It was only logical, of course. If the two cars got separated, perhaps one could get away, and the entire group wouldn't have to be compromised.

Suga hummed, but it was low, and Daichi knew why. "Daichi, how are we supposed to stop them from coming after us? I don't want to run forever, but we can't go into hiding either." Suga sighed, and he rubbed a hand back through his hair. Daichi reached over to rest a reassuring hand on his thigh, and Suga put his free hand on top of it, leaning back against the seat. "It's just... What we had back at that lodge was like being home again. We were so far away, we didn't have to worry about being caught for a while, and...it was so normal."

Daichi nodded, and let him talk.

"Tadashi didn't tremble so much, and he was there most of the time. We played cards, and we had snowball fights, and it was almost like we weren't being hunted down. When do we get to have that again? Do we ever get to?"

Suga's voice sounded hopeless, and Daichi felt it put holes in heart like it had been doing for the past year. He glanced at his love, and then back at the road, giving his thigh a squeeze. "I don't know." And the truth was, that Daichi really didn't know. They could only run so far when running would only be an option for so long.

"We'll figure it out. But we're going to get them tomorrow, no matter what."

Eventually their time would run out, and he knew it. Because time always runs out.

_*_*_*_

**[THE FACILITY, LATE NIGHT]**

As Yamaguchi lay in his bed, strapped down to submission, he was gone for the first time in a long time. His mind swarmed with thoughts of Kei, and thoughts of his family. But most of all, _those words_. Those fucking insults that the dead doctor hurled at him.

Tadashi wasn't a fool. He could be naive, yes, but he was no fool. He knew full well now that the doctor said all of those things to get a rise out of him. Dammit if he didn't succeed. And it left Tadashi feeling just how he said: weak. He let that man coax him into losing himself. But God, it felt so good.

To finally bring pain to someone who brought so much pain to him and his loved ones. And as the Nest lights above him flickered, and the lose papers, pens, and materials of the desk spun through the air, and the heavy desk and beds rattled loudly on the floor, he realized that it wasn't enough. That killing one doctor wasn't enough for him. It was like a madness that made its way in the moment he really used his powers.

And Tadashi was ready to raise hell with it. He was ready to tear the whole place down and end it all. Inside of him, the beast had been growing, his anger, pain, despair, festering into something that would surely cause damage on catastrophic levels. And that became evident when he opened his eyes the next morning.

**[DAY 7, EARLY MORNING]**

"And you're sure he said to bring it to Lab twelve?" One of the three doctors asked as they walked through the halls, flipping through the pages on his clipboard. The second huffed, showing him his own.

"For God's sakes, it's right there, printed on the page! 'Bring Subect W12 to lab number twelve for further telekinetic assessment! Are you dim?" The man hissed, and the third one grunted under her breath, looking through the papers as they neared the Nest.

"I hate going in there," She grumbled. "They're little beasts. W9 bit me a few days ago." She said sourly, holding up her hand to show them. The second doctor turned to her with exasperated eyes.

"Well, it bites! It says it right on the document, to keep your hands away from that one's face. Out of the three, W9 is the most agitated." He said, and she glared at him.

"Yes, I'm plenty capable of reading, and look at you, suddenly able to read documents properly. Do you think I just stuck my hand in its face and said, "Here, I dare you to bite me, you little freak"? It was acting insane!" She ranted. The first doctor hummed as the door was coming into view.

"We'll be looking into that. If it can hone that barbaric rage as motivation during a fight, we might be able to train it for military purpose in the end."

The female doctor scoffed, glaring down at the reddened teeth marks in her hand. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but it damn sure still hurt. "They should just put it down, make our jobs easier." She spat. "We'd be better off if that thing was dead."

As the doctors reached the door, there was no way they could know what lay in store for them beyond it. When the door opened, they filed into the room, and there was Subject W12, lying on the mattress.

Tadashi heard them enter the room. That was when he came back. But he kept his eyes closed for the time being, for right now, he was patient.

He could feel Kei now. He was closer than he'd ever been. So close that he might as well have been here. He'd known that the Murder was close by since last night. He hadn't slept, for when he was gone, he always remained awake. Now, he was coming out of it. No one was going to stop him from getting back to Kei. Tadashi knew better than anything else that he would die without his Kei. And he couldn't have that.

So, when he felt a hand grabbing hold of his chin and a thumb pulling down his eyelid so a light could be shined into it, he listened to one of the male doctors gasp in alarm at the sight of his pitch black eyes, murky and solid, no trace of white.

In the blink of an eye, the man's head exploded, and the other doctors shrieked as Tadashi snapped each of the buckles that kept him in place, and yanked their key cards off of their necks, throwing them across the room and up under the desk that was bolted to the floor with only an inch of space between it and the floor. His skin was warm with the fresh blood of the doctor, and from that warmth, he remembered Kei. Remembered the first time he was stripped of his warmth.

"Never again," He whispered, and the remaining two doctors ran for the door, only for it to close with a loud bang, denting on one side from how hard it slammed. "You won't take him from me."

"OH GOD, NO! PLEASE, PLEASE LET US OUT!" The woman was screaming, and she began to pound on the door, bawling, her white coat stained with crimson and flesh. It was all over the room, the head had exploded so hard and so fast. The other doctor had his hands in his hair, backing away from the first doctor's body with quivering lips and shaking shoulders.

"Fuck, _fuck, what did you do_?" His voice was small, and his back pressed against the corner underneath where the camera should have been, but it was on the floor, broken and useless.

His eyes were set on the horrifying boy, who looked just like he did in that gruesome camera feed he was shown last night, of this same creature murdering another doctor. They'd been shown the footage so they could understand what they were dealing with by coming in and transporting the experiment. And yet, he didn't even know what he was looking at.

Tadashi swung his feet off the mattress, and when he planted them on the floor, the new tile cracked beneath them. The doctor did not understand, unable to think with the other doctor screaming so desperately at the door. He shook his head vigorously as Tadashi stared down at him with a face that he didn't recognize.

"P-Please, let me go! I-I just took this job for money, I'm sorry! Please! Please don't kill me, I have a child! Please don't--" His words were cut off by his head exploding, staining that corner of the room with his blood, bone, and brains.

Tadashi looked nearly like he had painted himself for fun. His white clothes were soaked, and there were small chunks of flesh on him, in his feathers and in his hair, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Not when he only had one thing on his mind. He turned around to the woman, who was screaming louder than before.

There was an odd glee that Tadashi felt now, as he watched them all beg for mercy. It was almost liberating. He was getting close, and they were finally getting what they deserved.

"It's funny how you're begging me now." He told the woman, who didn't appear to be listening. "LOOK AT ME!" He shouted, and one of the overhead lights shattered, darkening the room. The doctor shrieked, and he slowly turned around, facing him and squeezing herself into the corner as much as she could. Her arms were holding herself, and the tears streaming nonstop down her cheeks were shiny. "P-P-Please no..."

"I begged for mercy. I begged for mercy when you cut my hair, I begged for mercy when you hosed me down and tattooed me. I begged for mercy when you made me run until I puked. I begged for mercy when you electrocuted me, when you burned me, when you stabbed me with your needles. But you never stopped." He clenched his fists, and his veins darkened.

She was shaking her head, watching the ground crack with every step that he took, wings rising like those of a predator.

"I begged for mercy when you took my inhaler away!" More cracks underneath his feet. The ground felt like it was shaking, but she couldn't tell if it was just the beds or her imagination. "I BEGGED FOR MERCY WHEN YOU LET HIM ATTACK ME! AND I BEGGED FOR MERCY WHEN YOU STRAPPED ME DOWN TO THAT TABLE AND CUT ME LIKE I WASN'T EVEN HUMAN! THOSE SCARS HAVEN'T GONE AWAY!" He didn't know he was crying. The glass window was cracking and the woman was screaming.

"I WON'T BEG YOU ANYMORE!" He yelled to her, and when she looked into his eyes, she felt her skull pulsate. She felt it contract, and she felt it start to break. She howled with agony, and her hands went to holding her head as she squeezed her eyes shut. Objects were once again zipping around the room randomly, it felt like all she could hear was his voice.

She opened her eyes one good time. "WHAT ARE YOU?!" She screamed, and her body flew up, a blur until it collided with the ceiling. At that moment, Tadashi was shaking with rage, his tears not ones of despair, but ones of pure hatred. He looked at her body hanging from the ceiling by her head which had gone clean through. Her fingers twitched, and her blood leaked down from her hidden head in long, beautiful trails, seeping into her clothes and dripping from her shoes.

Tadashi breathed raggedly, and he yelled, turning toward the door and knocking it clean out into the hallway. His heart was beating so loud that he could hear it, so fast that he could feel it in every inch of his body. But he felt cold. Ice fucking cold. And his mind held the power of that cold.

An alarm was blaring because of the door, going off so loud that it blocked out his heartbeat. The lights had gone red to match the urgency of the siren, but it didn't faze him. He started to walk, and goddammit, anyone who got in his way was going to die. They were all going to pay the price today.

Tadashi was covered in so much blood by the time he got to the Closet that Tobio was in, that when he broke the door off, the muzzled boy gave a muffled snarl at him. But he quickly realized who it was, and when the restraints clicked and dropped off of him, he coughed and stretched.

He looked at Tadashi, and that's how he knew it was happening. He rose to his feet and gave a single nod, before stepping out of the closet.

"I'll go get him. Get to the roof."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus, the brain was dry even though I have EVERYTHING PLANNED OUT, FUCKING BRAIN-  
Hope you enjoyed this!
> 
> I didn't want to say anything, but I'm too excited! The next chapter will be the last chapter involving the Facility for a while! I won't say the ending is close, but it's not very far away, either.  
The third book is being written now! The creation of the second generation is complete!
> 
> No sudden MPreg, so sorry if you were expecting that or wondering. No MPreg in book 3!
> 
> No, everything will be done much differently. Heh. Hehe. Hehehe...


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's going the fuck down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LONG CHAPTER WARNING--This chapter is enormous, only because I wanted to do the rescue all in one chapter instead of splitting them into two. Happy Chapter 20!
> 
> Also, don't come for me, that's all I'm gonna say. I'm so sorry.

**[THE FACILITY]**

This is it. All they had to do was get to the roof, and they could leave. Kageyama didn't know if the others were here for them. If not, then they would go and find them. As he sprinted through the red halls of the Facility, his mind set itself on getting to Hinata. That was his goal, and it would be his goal until he saved him.

It had been five minutes since Yamaguchi let him out of the Closet. It didn't take five minutes to get to that room if you were running, but when guards and doctors were constantly coming at you, trying to stop you dead in your tracks at every turn, you can't just run past them. That was where his power would come in.

"Where do you think you're going, huh?" One of the two guards blocking his path snarled. "You get one chance to get your ass back in that closet _peacefully_." The man said, but another stepped forward angrily.

"Just grab it, are you serious?! These things can wreck the whole place if they all get out!" He said, and raised his gun at the boy, who instantly zeroed in on him. In a split second, the man turned his gun to the other beside him, and he fired the bullet straight into his neck. He stood still after that, and Kageyama stepped forward, kneeling to snatch a key card off the fallen guard.

He looked to the one standing. "Give me your gun." Only, Kageyama didn't mean the one that the man was holding. There was another gun on his hip, a REAL one that the guards were only to use in dire situations. And Kageyama held his hand out for the man to hand it to him. The boy took the pistol, checking it for bullets before he knew he was ready. 

He pointed it between the man's eyes and pulled the trigger, watching the man jolt back as his blood splattered all over, and collapse with a thud in a pool of it. Kageyama waved the gun experimentally with his hand. "Hm. This'll work."

_*_*_*_

Kuroo flinched awake at the sudden blare of the alarm, and his gaze shot all around the dark padded room in a panic. After all, jumping up would cause pain to the lashes in his back, and it was bad enough that they were going to take forever to heal. Nothing like the burn of calluses from...playing volleyball. That thought quickly fled his mind when he felt Yaku shift beside him, ears up and alert, a protective arm over the covered lump beside him, which was really just Kenma.

Usually he slept up on one of the wall ledges away from the group like Yamamoto currently did, but Yaku managed to convince him to come down last night, having insisted that he didn't need to isolate himself.

No one had said anything about what Kuroo did. Not aloud. He and Yaku had whispered about while everyone was asleep, but other than that, no one mentioned it, and Kenma seemed to be more clammed up than ever. Hence why he was now curled up under a mound of a blanket, nothing but his twitching ears visible out the top as he laid. Kuroo knew by those twitches that he was awake, though back when they were kids, the only way he could ever tell was if there was a screen light under the covers or not.

Yamamoto peeked down from one of the ledges protruding from the white walls and squinted down sleepily at the rest of them, eyebrows strained as he tried to get his eyes to focus. "The fuck's goin' on?" He called over the siren, rolling onto his side and stretching with a big yawn.

Answering his question, a loud voice started to speak over the intercoms: **"ATTENTION! SUBJECTS W12 AND W9 ARE LOOSE IN THE FACILITY. SUBJECT W12 HAS JUST KILLED THREE DOCTORS, AND IS NOW SLAUGHTERING EVERYONE IT ENCOUNTERS DUE TO TELEKINETIC INSTABILITY. SHOOT WITH BULLETS."**

Lev lifted his head slowly, looking around from his spot stretched out at the floor group's feet. "That really doesn't sound good." He yawned, reaching back to scratch at the furry base of his gray tail.

Kuroo threw off his blanket. "They're getting out." He said, and hissed at the burn in his back. Yaku put a hand on his shoulder to steady him, and looked him in the eyes. They'd talked about trying to get out before. But ever since the Murder first escaped, the white coats had cracked down on their guard security, putting those guys at every corner and door.

But they couldn't be left behind this time. This may be their only chance, and Kuroo had promised that he was going to get the rest of them out. He parted his lips to say something, but his ears perked straight up and he froze. Yaku mimicked these movements, and his eyebrows strained as he listened.

It was hard to hear exactly over the droning of the alarm, but this was one of the only times that Kuroo was glad to be genetically enhanced. There were footsteps, heavy ones that sounded like the guards, only...lighter.

In a second, there was a loud clang near the door, and it startled them all so much that Yamamoto slipped from the ledge and landed roughly on all fours. The door clanged loudly a second time, and a dent could be made out near the hinges, before the entire thing roughly tore off of them, disappearing outside the room and revealing none other than Yamaguchi standing there.

Kuroo was speechless, arm outstretched in front of Yaku beside him, who was readying himself to protect Kenma. The quiet feline's head poked out from under his blanket, grown-out hair nearly obscuring his vision as he stared with wide eyes at the door.

Kuroo could hear Yaku hissing, but it wasn't a surprising reaction from him anymore. Even so, Kuroo wasn't sure if he'd ever be used to hissing himself.

Yamaguchi, who still looked like a walking fucking demon, smiled a little at the sight of them, eyes gradually returning to their natural brown, just as friendly as ever.

"Follow me. We're all gonna get out of here."

_*_*_*_

Kageyama had learned one thing making his way through the halls of this wretched building, and it was that blood is very warm. He was constantly wiping it from his face, but it was no weight on his shoulders when he only had one thing on his mind: Hinata.

He needed to get to Hinata, and there was nothing that was going to stop him.

His mind settled on him and only him, for nothing else held nearly as much importance as getting him out of here. This place wasn't for him--it wasn't for any of them, but him especially. Kageyama clenched the pistol in his hand.

Hinata ran to him the day they arrived. Before that, it was Yamaguchi for company, and that poor guy had been shaking, looking around so fearfully in that rec room. Kageyama could barely look his way, too focused on keeping an eye on all of the mutants around them.

But really, he'd been waiting for Hinata, who he hadn't seen since he helplessly watched them load him into the back of a van. When Hinata was finally released into the room, Kageyama nearly collapsed, and that was a feeling he never wanted to experience again in his life. Hinata had sobbed in his arms so much that day. How long ago was it? He wasn't sure now, but he knew it had been _days_. He mentally cursed himself for not keeping count, but he was sure Suga was. If anyone was, it was him.

Kageyama recognized a few of the doors and broke into a sprint; he was almost to that room where Hinata was being held.

He remembered the feel of his hands, his dainty arms clinging to his neck before the surgery, and the way it felt to hold him in his lap after the surgery. To feel so reassured that, _they didn't kill him while you were separated, he's still here and so are you_. His feathers ruffled just thinking about it.

One more guard blocked his path at the door, and he raised the gun without thinking, pulling the trigger and shooting the man right through the heart. The man dropped his own gun and smacked against the wall. His legs slid out from underneath him and as he slid down the wall with a deep red trail following his path downward, the winged teen was already at the door, using the stolen key card to start an attempt to get in.

Kageyama _needed_ him. He hadn't wanted to--hadn't _ever_ wanted to--and yet it was somehow as impossible as breathing with no oxygen.

The moment the door was open, he paused and turned back to look at the slumped corpse of the doctor, before stepping over to him and yanking his white coat off of his body, making him drop to the side with a wet thud. Kageyama inwardly grimaced at the fact that he was putting Hinata in it, but there was no time to be picky as he used his teeth to tear two holes into the bloody upper back of the material. Taking Hinata out bare _and_ naked into that cold could kill him, especially if he was wet.

Kageyama ran into the room, straight to the tank and around to the back where there was a sealed door cut into it big enough to put a Hinata through. It had some weird keypad lock on it, and Kageyama growled in frustration, going back around the front and picking up the heart monitor, before lifting it up and smashing it forward into the glass.

Cold blue liquid gushed out at Kageyama who barely stepped aside, and it washed past him with a strong chemical smell. He coughed into his sleeve and swiped as much wet glass aside with his foot, before stepping forward and starting to carefully but quickly disconnect the cords attached to the ginger.

"Hinata!" He called out, and he swallowed hard when he didn't get a response from the cold boy. Kageyama leaned Hinata's naked body against his shoulder and carefully maneuvered the black cord's base out of Hinata's head, shuddering as it revealed three hauntingly long needles. Thankfully there wasn't much blood.

"Gonna get you out--We're going home." He rambled under his breath, slipping the long lab coat onto Hinata and lifting him up bridal style with his wings curled up around his front and covering him so they didn't hang. The boy's head dipped over his arm limply, and Kageyama caught sight of the two small scars on the sides of his neck from the collar, but forced his gaze away.

Kageyama turned to start running, only to cry out when a shard of glass pierced into the middle of his left foot and made him fall hard to his knees. "Fuck! Agh!" He hissed out, looking back at where the blood was pooling out of the gash in his foot. Sharp pain shot through the limb the moment he tried to move it, and he quickly realized the shard of glass that was embedded in it was embedded in there _deep_.

He could try to pull it out, but there was no way he could stick his fingers into that wound and still be able to walk, let alone with another person in his arms--no matter how light Hinata was. Kageyama didn't have any time to overthink it. He forced himself up onto his good foot, and he growled out in pain as he stepped up onto his injured one.

He could feel the glass cutting into his foot even deeper. But he looked down at Hinata's face, and he started to run, clenching his jaw as he painfully tracked blood all through the halls.

"I'm gonna get you out...!" He huffed, taking deep breaths as the pain spread farther up his leg. He just hoped he didn't slip.

_*_*_*_

Kenma was used to having longer hair, therefor he was used to it getting in his mouth, and shedding, and having it flow about when he ran. The linoleum of the floor was cool to the bottom of his feet, and he clutched hard to Yaku's hand, trying to keep his balance as he was pulled along through the red halls.

Kuroo, who was ahead of the two of them, called out to the farther ahead Yamaguchi. "Hey, wait! I'm not leaving Bo!" He said, and Yamaguchi backtracked.

Kenma hadn't seen him in a week, but just like then, he hardly recognized him now. Especially when he was blood-soaked and breaking doors down with his fucking mind.

"Who?" Yamaguchi asked, looking back over his shoulder. Kuroo's eyebrows furrowed in slight frustration. "Can you get this door open?"

Yamaguchi caught on, and as he got to work on tearing that door off, Kenma couldn't help but watch in awe as the boy used his own mind as a weapon. Kenma could never do anything like that. He was just a useless fucking neko. That's what he was told to think, anyway, and that's exactly what he thought.

Even so, he was the first to notice the presence of nearing guards. His ears perked up and his tail frizzed. Yaku noticed. "What's wrong, what is it?"

"Someone's coming." He said, and Yamamoto turned to the right where he could see the shadows of four different guards somewhere around the corner, coming up slowly in a position that gave away the fact that they were holding guns.

"Kuroo," His hissed, and the dark-haired male turned to the right, cursing under his breath at the sight. He looked to Yamamoto and nodded, to which the other boy responded with a single determined nod. Yaku seemed to get the fact that they planned to jump them, and he moved Kenma and Lev farther down the hall, keeping an eye out as Yamaguchi was getting the door looser and looser off the hinges.

"I-I almost got it!" He said, but he was holding a hand to his head now, keeping his focus. Kuroo and Yamamoto darted around the corner, and when the first gunshot was heard, Yamaguchi had broken the door off the hinges and let it drop to the floor at the same time. Inside, sitting on a bed and clearly having flinched backward, was Bokuto, eyes wide as he looked Yamaguchi up and down.

"Jesus, Freckles! What'd you do? I heard the thing, and they said-"

'We have to go! Come on!" Yamaguchi interrupted, and without missing a beat, Bokuto climbed out of the bed and ran out of the room. Kuroo and Yamamoto simultaneously rounded the corner, clothes spattered and streaked with blood. It was quicker than anyone thought, but that just meant that they weren't about to be held up any longer.

Now it was just a matter of reuniting with Kageyama, who hopefully had Hinata by now.

That is, until the lights went out with a buzz that started high and went low. The entire building was silent in that moment, and Yamaguchi could swear that he heard many of the locked cells around them beep and unlock all at once.

"That...doesn't look good." Whispered Lev, and Yaku felt the taller boy's arm brush against his own as he nervously smushed himself closer to him. Yaku let him.

The lights shot back on with a distant yet surrounding click, bathing the halls in clear white light, but it was only there for a second before they were in the dark once more.

"I don't like this." Said Bokuto, and they watched at the lights tried to flicker back on. They didn't go out once they managed to turn on again, but something was clearly damaged as the lights started to flicker up and down the halls, scattering the light and making it a little harder to see clearly.

Bokuto looked at Yamaguchi curiously when the freckled boy looked up toward the ceiling. He stayed that way for a few seconds, and Bokuto could see his eyes go shiny when the light overhead flickered on and off. Then Yamaguchi broke into a sprint.

"H-Hey, wait up!" Bokuto called after him, and the others rushed to catch up with the surprisingly fast crow.

"Kageyama!" He cried out, and he was smiling, panting as he ran ahead of everyone else. "Kageyama, they're here!"

"Wait--Who's here?!" Kuroo called out. He had a feeling he knew, but he needed confirmation from the person who seemed like he knew exactly what he was talking about.

Yamaguchi rounded the corner and caught sight of Kageyama farther down the hall with a small but obvious limp in his step, though he didn't seem to be slowing down. "Kageyama, they're here! We need to get up to the roof now!" Yamaguchi called out again, and Kageyama looked relieved, adjusting Hinata in his arms. The ginger was clinging to his neck, face buried in his shoulder.

Right as the group reunited, Kenma set his eyes on Hinata. "Is he...?"

Kageyama winced, glancing at Hinata and back up to Kenma. "Fine."

Kenma wasn't sure if he entirely believed that, and opened his mouth to warily call out to Hinata.

"HEY! ALL OF YOU STOP RIGHT THERE!" Back the way Kageyama came were multiple guards running at them, and before Kenma knew it, Kuroo had scooped him up and threw him over his shoulder, keeping a hand over his back as he started to sprint.

"FUCK, LET'S GO!" He shouted, and they did just that, starting to run back the way they'd come and heading in the direction of the roof stairs.

_*_*_*_

**[THE GROUP]**

By early dawn, everyone was already awake. There was no staying asleep when they were just miles away from their destination.

By early morning, they were sitting in an anxious silence. Suga was wringing his clammy hands in his hoodie pocket, and even Tsukishima was sitting up with his blanket wrapped around his shoulders, picking at his feathers underneath it. All eyes were set on the tiny, distant silhouette of that place. The Facility.

Daichi glanced to the left side-view mirror, and he saw that the second car was still right behind them, Asahi behind the wheel of it. He wore a stoic face, but made eye contact, prompting Daichi to shift his eyes back to the road. In their own car were himself and Suga, along with Nishinoya, Tsukishima, and Ennoshita. Asahi didn't mind driving Akaashi, who admitted with an embarrassed expression that his hands were shaking too much to drive.

They'd snatched the second van from a gas station parking lot, and the plan was to be inconspicuous. In Suga's opinion, a plumber van was a little obvious when driving in the middle of nowhere, but on the upside, there was no one around to ask why a teenager was driving a plumber's van in the first place. The big fucking cartoon toilet logo on the sides was also incredibly distasteful, personally...

"Maybe we really should have switched out this one, too. What if there isn't enough room? There're going to be seventeen of us." Suga said, glancing out the right side-view mirror, unsure. Daichi held back a sigh, for this was the third time he was reassuring him.

"We've all fit in here before, just the nine of us. Tanaka's motorcycle happy, so that just keeps the number of people in our car the same, or takes it down if someone rides with him. The other van has all the space they need in the back, plus the two front seats, okay?" He explained. Suga reluctantly leaned back, dropping his eyes to his own shaking hands--he honestly hadn't blamed Akaashi for not trusting his ability to drive at the moment. He wouldn't trust _himself_ with a vehicle of any kind.

As Daichi had said, Tanaka was currently tailing the two vans on a motorcycle that he'd gotten Noya to bring to life for him. Suga hadn't seen the kid smile like that in a long time. The motorcycle too was stolen from the parking lot despite the fact that Suga told him to leave it. But with Noya back up and energetic as ever, there was no stopping their shenanigans.

"Take a deep breath for me." Daichi said, and Suga turned his gaze out the window, sighing.

"Don't patronize me, Daichi."

"I didn't mean it that way. I know you're worried." Daichi slipped an easy hand over to gently grasp Suga's thigh. "Even if there wasn't enough room, we're still getting them out of there. Most of us can fly." He said. The other's eyes fell to the hand on his thigh, and he reached down to run his thumb over the top of it.

"I forget." He said with an air of sarcasm. He looked up and the silhouette was bigger, closer.

In the farthest seat in the back, Ennoshita laid across it on his back, his journal open over his head as he read over the things he had written just yesterday morning. The visions had seemed so bizarre then, and maybe they still were now, even though he had a year's worth of his friends' stories swirling through his brain to explain them. But he couldn't help feeling an awful pit in the very depths of his stomach, for he still didn't know what to expect. 

It was widening, carving itself bigger and slowly becoming a cavern the closer they were getting to this Facility place. Tanaka had offered him a spot on the back of his motorcycle, but Ennoshita couldn't bring himself to look at that building directly ahead. This was going to fail, it had to. They didn't even have a plan. They were practically walking to their deaths here! No guns, hardly any real fighting experience, let alone any with their powers.

He couldn't look at the place where they were going to die.

_ **"We won't die."** _

Ennoshita jumped at the sudden close voice of Tsukishima. The blond was sitting in the seat in front of his, beside Nishinoya, but he wasn't looking back at him, and it sent a chill down his spine, because _'Wow, I didn't know he could do _that_.'_

It didn't sound like his voice came from the seat in front of his. It was eerily alike his own reading voice, or his thinking voice. You never quite know _who_ it is--be it you or someone else--but you know that voice and it's quiet and yet perfectly audible to you.

Truthfully, Ennoshita didn't know how to respond to that. He didn't know how to have a conversation with just his thoughts, because his thoughts were all over the place right now. He couldn't say that it _didn't_ make him feel like a bit of an outsider. But he refused to dwell on that right now.

He settled his gaze back on his journal pages, tuning out the voices around him and the engine of Tanaka's new motorcycle, and the sound of snow being smoothly trampled by the van tires.

There was a small drawing underneath yesterday's entry, a feather. Ennoshita frowned, for he didn't remember drawing such a thing. But that was often a product of his entries. It wasn't the first time he'd doodled without realizing it. Now that he thought about it, he'd doodled on his notes yesterday at the hospital. Those, weren't they feathers, too?

"Guys," Daichi's deep voice said, and the newcomer felt his heart sink and his stomach drop. "We're stopping here."

Ennoshita was afraid to peek over the seat, but as the car was coming to a stop, he willed himself to do so, using a hand to pull himself up. "Oh my--Oh my God..." He said with a trembling inhale as his eyes found the enormous building. Daichi had parked them a good thirty-five or so yards away, and Ennoshita could only wish he'd parked farther, because he would give anything not to be recognizing the building from his vision.

_'No, no, no, this can't be the right building. You saw a different one, Chikara, it was a different one!'_ He inwardly tried to lie to himself, but it was no more convincing than saying it aloud.

This was the right building. The Facility.

No one moved for a few moments, and the other van pulled up some feet to their left, Tanaka's engine coming up to their right and ceasing its gruff rumbling.

They sat there in the silence, cold from the open window, frozen at the sight of the nightmare ahead of them. It was here that they were all cursed to be freaks. Here where they were tortured, abused. Here where they were forever mutated. Here where they became the monsters.

Everything seemed so still. The building seemed haunted, and maybe it really was.

Daichi knocked on his own window and gestured for Suga to roll down his own and get Tanaka's attention. Tanaka was the first to speak up. "Think they know we're here?"

Tsukishima quickly chimed in. "There are cameras on the outside. We've already been seen." He said, and that was the first time anyone actually looked for cameras, squinting to see them.

Daichi chuckled halfheartedly. "We're such amateurs..." He breathed out, and unbuckled his seat belt, stepping out and compelling everyone else to follow. He looked up at the tall, multiple story building, squinting at the roof. "We can get in through the roof. First thing's first, we need to knock out the power. Those doctors in there can't see like the rest of us can, and that gives us an advantage. While that's going on-"

"I can do it. I can knock out the power easy." Said Nishinoya, standing up straight with a newfound determination, though his wings were shaking just a tad. Daichi was already shaking his head.

"No. Absolutely not! You're barely functioning after what happened yesterday. Someone else is going to do it, but not you."

"But I'm fine! I'm up, nothing's wrong anymore! It's like it didn't even happen!" Nishinoya protested, and Suga intervened then.

"But it did happen and, the answer is no! You've barely even recovered from that seizure, and there's no telling what using your power could do to you." He said, and he reached a hand out, subconsciously about to use his own power to make him submit. Nishinoya stepped back and Suga pulled his own hand away in horror of what he almost did. He looked down at his hand and clutched it to his chest.

Was that how easy it was to forget that they weren't the monsters? That manipulating your own was even worse than being manipulated by others?

Suga shook his head, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I'll do it. I want you to stay clear of any harm while we're here."

Nishinoya growled and his feathers puffed up. In the boy's eyes there was that blue light again, and Suga would only guiltily admit to himself that he was afraid.

"Bullshit! Those are my _brothers_ in there!"

"I said no!"

Daichi pushed the two of them apart, and Asahi took Noya by the shoulders, warily looking toward the building. It was odd, he'd seen a glint in one of the ground level windows. "Guys-"

"Just let me do this! I can do something!"

Suga took a step forward and for a moment they all felt the most powerful wave of despair that they had ever experienced. "No! I can't lose you again!"

"DUCK!" Asahi shouted, and in that moment, a rush of bullets came flying at them, and they just barely ducked behind the vans in time. The second that were out of sight, the fire ceased.

**"I'm one-hundred percent certain that I told all of you to stay away."** _That_ voice hummed out loudly through what sounded like a megaphone. Nishinoya struggled to catch his breath, peeking around the black van to see what was going on.

"Guards--I think maybe fifteen of them, and Katsumata. They have guns." He said, and hid once again. Tanaka cursed. "Damn, we should'a stolen some guns!" He huffed out.

**"It appears that you all don't quite understand the magnitude of this situation. Without W10, I could not find a way to quickly heal the injured, the sick, or the dying. Just by having it for one simple week, I was able to do wonders with its blood! And the most significant of those wonders was what I like to call, _Phoenix_. And with Phoenix, it makes shooting you with bullets one less worry for me! For, I can now heal an injury in simple seconds."**

Tanaka groaned. "Great! Now they can shoot us with real bullets! What do we do now?!"

Noya's stomach dropped at hearing that, and he peeked out again just in time to see Katsumata signalling for the guards to move toward the vans. The boy came back around and looked across to the plumber van where Daichi was.

"They're coming! I think I can make it to the roof on my own."

Daichi must have looked at him like he grew a horn right out the center of his forehead. "What?!" He hissed. "Are you insane? Stay right there-"

"I'm gonna do it, I can run!"

"Nishinoya-"

But Nishinoya had already unfurled his wings and ducked around the side of the van, getting to his feet in just seconds and breaking into a sprint beyond anything they had ever seen. Faster than the escape in the garage.

"YUU!" Suga cried his name. If it weren't for Daichi holding him back, he would have gone after him.

The protesting voices of the group didn't stop Noya from sprinting exceptionally fast, kicking up snow. The moment the guns pointed at him, he started to run in a zig-zag, refusing to duck behind any of the large rocks protruding from the ground. He knew more than anything right now that getting himself pinned was almost as bad as actually getting himself shot.

"Woah, SHIT!" Noya yelped, ducking and rolling to the side before opening up his wings and taking himself into the sky. With the way he flew, their guns were no match for the speed of the fastest flyer in the Murder. As he moved through the air toward the roof, Noya felt something course through him. On the roof was that generator, and he was panting when he landed. "Whoo! Okay--That was crazy--and awesome."

Noya jogged all the way across the roof to the generator. "Great place to put a generator! Thanks, guys!" He smirked. He pressed his hands to the top of it, and that's when he felt it again--that energy! Noya gasped as he felt all of the electricity flowing through him. His veins filled with a fluorescent blue again, and he felt no longer like he had slept for most of yesterday.

"Okay, come on! Come on, come on, come on!" He said, and his hands got brighter. Noya could feel it building up, and when the dam broke, nothing would ever repair it. An enormous blue shock shot out of his hands and straight into the generator. It started to smoke, and then it exploded, knocking him off of it and onto the roof floor. The small fire wasn't something he wanted to worry about when it was time to kick some ass.

Nishinoya looked down at his hands and he smiled widely, proudly. "YEAH! ROLLING THUNDER IS BACK, BABY!" He called out his "childish" phrase with excitement.

Down below, the others were still pinned, but Tsukishima's eyes were closed for a long moment, before they shot open and they looked _alive_. "Daichi-san! They're going to the roof!" He called out, and Daichi nodded, peeking around the van again before he cursed.

"Shit! Alright, we gotta buy them time to get up there! Ennoshita, you stay here! Everyone be careful and look out." He said, before sprinting out to throw a hard punch to one guard's face. Suga looked helpless, but Akaashi took his shoulders and assured him. "This is the only chance we have. Come on!"

The guards were spreading out when the group started to attack back, and Tanaka was fidgeting in the snow, grumbling as his hands and arms took on that once again shiny grey metal.

"Alright, fuck it!" He shouted, and rounded the van to get in on the fight.

Ennoshita was breathing heavily. Stay here? That was the best thing that he had heard all morning. He wasn't going to pretend that he really was like the rest of them. His strength wasn't enhanced, he didn't have wings. He'd get himself killed trying to fight.

Before he knew it, he was the only one left hiding behind the cars, and it gave him a moment to try and process what the hell was happening.

This was it. This was his vision. He'd realized that the moment the words left their mouths, but only now did he truly take in the fact that this was literally his dream come true.

Just in like, the absolute worst fucking way possible.

_*_*_*_

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Are they still coming?!" Asked Kuroo, ignoring the pain in his back. It had stuck there ever since he picked up Kenma, but he wasn't putting him down if it meant that there was a bigger chance of getting them all out faster. Kageyama looked back over his shoulder and nodded.

In a split second, one of the guards' heads exploded, and he looked to Yamaguchi, who was turning back around to keep running. "Six left!" The freckled boy shouted. They were finally nearing the roof stairs, and the closer they got, the more Yamaguchi could feel the others. Kei.

The gated--and thankfully open--stairs were coming into view now, and Kageyama briefly turned around, focusing on one of the guards so he could raise his gun and shoot himself. But there was no point even if it did take the number down one. Behind those guards, more were catching up.

They had to make a break for it.

"Kageyama...?" Said male looked down at the boy in his arms, and his eyes softened when Hinata was looking at him. "...Are we almost home?"

Kageyama clenched his jaw so as not to show the pain of running. He replied with a strained "Yeah," and Hinata's eyes promptly closed, his body leaning against him. Kageyama clutched him closer and he started up the stairs with the others, Yamamoto jamming the gate closed behind them and running to catch up.

Kageyama didn't count how many flights of stairs they ran up, but when they finally reached the doors to the roof, they burst through them and Kuroo immediately set Kenma onto his feet, going with Lev and Yamamoto to hold the doors closed.

The roof was big, bigger than they thought. There were at least four satellites near every corner, and ventilation and such. It was easy to forget how big the place was when you were only restricted to one area.

Kageyama was tempted to set Hinata down and help pin the door closed, but he didn't want to let him go out of fear that he couldn't hold him again.

Yamaguchi ran all the way to the edge of the roof and dropped to his knees. The far drop down nearly made him dizzy, but he swallowed, panting to try and catch his breath. His heart jumped at the sight of the van that was definitely theirs.

"I see them!" He said, and his eyes welled up with tears again. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "KEI! KEI, WE'RE UP HERE!" He cried out, eyes searching the ground for a blond. He didn't see him and his heart sank, only to perk up in relief when he saw Tsukishima hiding on the side of the unfamiliar white van, hand outstretched as he seemed to be trying to use his abilities.

A cold wind blew through the air, and Yamaguchi shivered, shielding his face with both arms.

Kageyama looked around for a place to sit with Hinata, and one of the big satellites looked decent enough, and it would shield them from the view of the door. He set Hinata there gently, adjusting the coat around him and whispering something that Yamaguchi couldn't hear.

Kuroo cleared his throat. "Hey, uh... So how're we supposed to get down? The rest of us don't have wings, you know." He called out, looking over at them with brows furrowed in confusion. God, it hurt like hell pushing his back against the doors, but he'd conditioned himself to block it out for now, gaze rolling over Yaku and Kenma, who had gone over to see a hardly-conscious Hinata.

Kageyama seemed wary, so Kuroo called out. "How about helping us out here? They can probably get this door down easy."

Kageyama looked at the others again, before reluctantly running over while calling to Yamaguchi over his shoulder. "Tell them we're up here!" And Yamaguchi nodded, focusing on Tsukishima down below.

Yamaguchi closed his eyes and focused, reaching for Tsukishima with everything he had. Though his body felt weak and he was cold and dizzy, he knew that if he didn't get their attention, this all will have been for nothing. He was _not_ going back in there. Who knows what they would do if they caught him.

When Tsukishima looked up, Yamaguchi felt warm. He was there. Their eyes met even from up here in the skies, and Yamaguchi's smile grew wide, tears of joy brimming in them as he longed to be in his arms again. He opened his mouth to call out his name, when the loud sound of metal breaking made him freeze. He whirled around, swaying the air with his wings, and he gasped to see that the doors had been broken down in ease.

They were laid out on the roof floor, and everyone was scrambling his way near to the edge. "Oh God, no." He whispered, and forced himself to stand on weak legs.

Kageyama quickly rounded the satellite and scooped up Hinata once again, backing up to stand beside Yamaguchi. Hinata was awake, looking up at him before his gaze found the guards that had just infiltrated the roof. _"K-Kageyama?"_ He whispered, clinging tighter to him. But Kageyama answered with his wings that raised up defensively.

Hinata caught sight of Kenma cowering behind Kuroo, who looked panicked, but was ready to pounce if needed. Bokuto shook his head. "Shit, what now? I can't leave you up here, bro." He said to Kuroo, who side glanced at him and then back at the men holding them at gunpoint. "Go out fighting?" He huffed.

One of the guards took a radio from his hip and started speaking into it. "Sir, we've got the subjects at gunpoint. How do you want us to apprehend?

Yamamoto had a hand on Yaku's shoulder. "Fuck. Think I can survive jumping?" He asked halfheartedly, and Yaku absently shook his head with a lost look in his eyes.

Yamaguchi was shaking, partially from the cold and from fear. Had this all been for nothing? Had he become a monster just to be detained once again?

But then he felt something, and his eyes widened. It was Kei, and he wasn't just saying hello. Yamaguchi started to smile, before he called out. "Get down! Brace yourselves!"

Without a second thought the group obeyed, and two blurs came sweeping through the air, and one fired a gun at one guard, killing him on the spot and whooping as he did so.

Tanaka smirked as he shot another, dodging the bullets that came flying at him next with his wings. "You assholes shoot like storm-troopers! Step up your game, motherfuckers!" He taunted, before throwing the empty gun at the face of another and swooping down to snatch up Yamamoto and Yaku. "Tora! Long time no see, man!" He smiled, and Yamamoto gave a crooked grin.

The second blur, Akaashi, was firing quicker, picking the guards off with better accuracy. When his gun ran out, he yanked one guard by the back of his shirt and the moment he was flying away from the roof, he dropped the guard. He circled back and grabbed Lev--with a slight bit of difficulty--and looked to Kageyama. "Get down from here!" He told him.

The owl boy's eyes found Bokuto next, and they looked distraught and yet so urgent. "Fly them down, Koutaro!" And believe Bokuto listened, though his eyes were wide at the sight of him. He grabbed Kuroo, who held onto Kenma, and jumped from the roof, starting to fly them down. Kuroo and Kenma's panicked shrieking could be heard on their way down.

They were getting close to the ground when a bullet grazed Bokuto's wing, causing him to hiss in pain and nearly fall. "H-Hey, Kuroo! Can't you guys land from up here?" He asked, struggling to stay up.

"Yeah, drop us down!" Kuroo replied, and Bokuto did. Kuroo clutched Kenma tight as they tumbled into the snow, rolling hard for five seconds or so, before they stopped. Bokuto crash landed a few feet away, and Akaashi was instantly rushing over to help.

_*_*_*_

The gunfire that followed Bokuto's departure concerned Yamaguchi, but that was the least of his worries right now. "Yamaguchi!" Kageyama said. "Can you fly?"

"Y-Yeah, I think-" Yamaguchi gasped when Kageyama nudged him over the edge of the roof. The air came rushing at him all at once, and he clenched his jaw to hold in a scream of surprise. His heart raced, and suddenly he had to remember that yes, he did know how to fly. He didn't have a pair of wings for nothing. He steadied himself on his stomach and outstretched his wings so he could get the hang of it, and thankfully he started to glide inside of fall.

Yamaguchi soared upward, letting out a relieved breath when he wasn't too weak. For the first time in this whole awful week, he felt alive. Right down there in the snow, was Kei, _his_ Kei, waiting for him. Yamaguchi circled around, and when he set his eyes on Tsukishima, he started to practically zoom his way toward him. Tsukishima didn't even seem to comprehend it before Yamaguchi tackled him into the snow. They tumbled a little ways back, but when they stopped--Yamaguchi laid out on top of him--the freckled boy was sobbing with a smile on his face.

"Kei...Kei...Kei...!" He whimpered, arms wrapped tightly around his neck. The collision knocked the wind out of Tsukishima for a few seconds, but he slowly hugged him back, as if trying to figure out of this was real, even though the tears streaming down his cheeks were hot.

Suga watched them, and though he was relieved to see Yamaguchi make it down safely, he couldn't rest until all of them were on the ground. "Where are Kageyama and Hinata?" He asked, and he looked at Daichi, who was holding Katsumata--the last one standing--at gunpoint. Daichi looked up to the roof in anticipation of them coming down.

"You've all done so well." A sarcastic voice said. Eyes moved to Katsumata. "I can even say that I'm proud. You've all exceeded my expectations." The man's face was eerily bland. "But you must realize that I will never let you go. Not as long as you exist."

Daichi glared at him. "Shut up!" He shouted. The man looked around at all of the dead guards and sighed. "I suppose you'll shoot me, then. And then what? I have many things put in place to make sure that you all never escape. You will always be a part of my work." He said. His calm nature was making them nervous, every single one of them. "There are others. Other Facilities, other hospitals, and so much more. You will never break away." He said, and a small smile grew onto his face. Though the smile quickly fell when a single gunshot echoed through the cold air.

_*_*_*_

Kageyama was ready. He turned, and he was ready to jump with Hinata safely in his arms. And then he heard the click of a gun behind him. "Don't you dare jump off this roof."

The teen turned around, and his eyes found a doctor he'd shot earlier. He had a wound to his stomach, and his free hand was pressed against it as he took labored breaths. But he held that gun steady, and Kageyama was frozen, looking from him down to a shivering Hinata.

"You think this means you win? We will find you, we will ALWAYS FIND YOU! THIS WILL NEVER BE OVER, YOU LITTLE BASTARDS!" The man growled out. Kageyama took a small step back.

He could throw him, he realized. He could throw Hinata, he trusted that someone was going to catch him. But it couldn't be Hinata, he couldn't die here. Do it. Do it now. It was only a few steps, he could make it. Do it now!

But Kageyama didn't even get a full turn in before the gun went off. It echoed off the roof floor, off the satellites, into the cold winter air. Everything was silent then, and the doctor looked unstable.

Kageyama's left shoulder felt hot then. Hot with a searing, unimaginable pain. He cried out, and Hinata slipped to the cold ground.

"Kageyama! KAGEYAMA!" He cried out, and he reached, watching with wide eyes at the other winged boy began to step backward. Hinata shook his head vigorously, unable to take steady breaths as blood soaked into Kageyama's white shirt from the deep maroon hole in his shoulder. Kageyama was panting, and his eyes found Hinata's right as his socked feet teetered on the edge.

"Hinata?"

When he went over, Hinata screamed and started to crawl toward the edge, only to be yanked back by his hair. "NO, KAGEYAMA! KAGEYAMAAA!" He cried, reaching for the edge of the roof as if Kageyama would magically reappear.

_*_*_*_

"What was that?" Asked Tanaka, Ennoshita holding onto his arm as they gazed up at the roof. Ennoshita was stiff.

"The first gunshot." He whispered.

"Kageyama!" Daichi shouted, eyes wide when he figured out who the falling figure was. He sprang into action when it made no effort to fly. Daichi dropped the gun and flew, leaving Suga to pick up the gun with shaky hands and aim it at Katsumata.

It was hard to catch Kageyama with his wings, but Daichi managed to grab him and keep them from crash landing. When the boys were on the ground, Daichi felt himself start to panic. "Fuck, they--they shot him!" He said, unsure of what to do with his hands. Kageyama was still breathing, but Daichi didn't know how permanent that was.

"Help me get him into the van!" He said, and Asahi was already helping carry Kageyama toward the black van.

Ennoshita was running over to help, but he slowly came to a stop when his eyes found their way up to the roof again. His heart dropped, and Suga followed his gaze, eyes widening at the sight.

"Oh, my God."

_*_*_*_

"KAGEYAMA! YOU SHOT HIM, YOU SHOT HIM! KAGEYAMA!" Hinata screamed out hysterically, struggling in the grasp of the doctor. The man was trying to drag him back toward the door.

"Stop your fucking struggling! That little shit had it coming, now cooperate or you're next!" The doctor ordered, and continued trying to pull Hinata over the dead bodies of the guards.

Hinata was hyperventilating, eyes focused only on the spot where he last saw Kageyama. God, he hoped he wasn't dead, but he looked like he'd been losing consciousness when he went over. It wasn't fair, why did they deserve this? Why did he deserve to lose Kageyama of all people? His tears were hot, but the more he was crying, the hotter they were getting.

"LET GO OF ME!" He shouted to the doctor, trying with weak limbs to pull away. The doctor didn't reply, only tugged him hard by his hair.

It was like a switch had been flipped.

Hinata's eyes were the first to ignite. And then his hair, scorching the doctor's hand in an instant. Then his body, singeing the lab coat he wore. Finally, his wings, completely setting the doctor on fire. His screams were drowned out by the flames in Hinata's ears as he sat there on his hands and knees, shaking. The fire that enveloped him spread effortlessly to the bodies around him. The satellites caught with small bursts of flame, and the rest of the roof was following until Hinata's fire had completely engulfed the entire roof. He was still panting heavily, fear consuming him as he screamed.

But there was no way to get away from his own fire. He was it. He was the fire itself, the source of the heat, the charcoal that it latched onto, the match that birthed it.

It was now that he realized he could run. Hinata pushed himself carefully to his feet, and though he stumbled, he broke into a run, surrounded by the intense yet invigorating heat of his own flames. Kageyama. He needed to get to Kageyama.

Hinata sprinted, the ground burning up underneath him, so quickly that he tripped up when his feet burned through the floor of the roof a couple time. Hinata leaped off the roof, so surrounded by the flames that he couldn't see anything around him. The ground below was a mystery as he descended, scorching a trail down the building on the way down. He counted a full ten seconds and he was still falling, but he could hear voices now. His tears burned up, hissing into nothingness on his cheeks.

_*_*_*_

"Hinata!" Suga cried out, and he started to run to the building, dropping the gun.

"Koushi, wait!" Daichi called, ducking out of the van and catching up to grab him.

"No, that's Hinata! Look!" Suga protested, pointing.

Ennoshita was frozen in place as he watched his nightmare come true. "...Hinata?" He whispered. He didn't believe it. It wasn't possible. How was Hinata the cause of that? Ennoshita's thoughts were interrupted by the sight something tiny and bright drifting through the air. A feather. As he watched it drift from the sky to the snow, a doctor had come rushing out of the doors.

Katsumata hadn't noticed, for he too was entranced by the beautiful light that was Hinata and the fire he'd started on the roof. The orange light reflected in his eyes. "Magnificent." He whispered.

"Dr. Katsumata! The roof is on fire and it's spreading! We need to start evacuation of the experiments, sir." The doctor panicked, and he looked up when the falling fire started to go out.

Suga wiggled out of Daichi's grasp then, running to where Hinata was going to fall. He leaped into the sky, flying up to catch the smoking boy halfway. He saw the opportunity the moment the fire went out.

Daichi ran back toward the van, cursing when the doors opened and more guards were starting to trickle out. He couldn't remember there ever being that many. He snatched a blanket and gestured to the others to start getting into the vans, snapping them out of their trances.

The feline helped Akaashi get Bokuto into the back of the white plumbing van, before they started piling in as well. Kenma stopped. "What about Shouyo?" He asked, and Kuroo stopped behind him. "Don't worry about him! Get in!" Kuroo said, pushing him into the van before closing the doors.

At the same time the majority of the crows were crowded into the black van, but the doors were still open as they waited for Daichi, Suga, and Hinata. Tanaka was on his motorcycle, thanking the heavens that it was somehow free of bullet holes. Ennoshita got on behind him, but they weren't ready to pull of just yet. Burning feathers were falling around them, melting the snow where they landed. In Tanaka's mind they looked like fireflies.

Suga landed with a dazed Hinata in his arms, and he had no choice but to lay him in the snow to cool him--which melted underneath him. "Shouyo, look at me. Say something, _please_." He pleaded, crying and pulling one of his hot hands up to his cheek. He could care less about the guards now, he just needed to know Hinata was okay. They needed to get something to cover him, he wore no clothes.

Hinata's eyes found Suga's, and his breathing was slow, but he cried, and this time his tears didn't evaporate. "S-Suga-san...? You came to get me..." Suga let out a sob and pulled the boy up into a hug, curling his fingers into his hair and kissing his temple. He had him! It was his Shouyo, he had him right here in his arms, and he was finally safe!

It felt like it had been ages since he held him. Seven days was more than an eternity.

"Koushi," Daichi called, and Suga briefly let go of Hinata to run and catch the folded blanket that Daichi was tossing to him. "Come on!"

Suga turned to run back to Hinata, only for a loud bang to echo through the air and a sharp pain to ignite in his side. He fell onto his stomach, holding his bleeding side. It felt like he'd only been grazed, but the pain made it hard to tell. He groaned in pain, his blood seeping into the snow. "SUGA-SAN!" Hinata's voice cried out, but a foot kicked the boy in the face, forcing him to collapse on his back.

Katsumata wasn't holding a gun, but the doctor beside him was. "YOU!" The doctor growled out, and stood over Hinata, pointing the gun right at him. Katsumata called out.

"What are you doing?! Not that one!"

But the doctor turned on him next. "You let this happen! They've destroyed our work, Katsumata! Everything that we have done, you let them ruin it all!" The doctor growled out with rage. The guards had their guns trained on each vehicle, forcing the group to stay put.

Hinata started to crawl backwards, his bleeding nose dripping red onto his bare chest and rolling off into the snow, leaving trails across his skin. It leaked into his mouth, but he didn't care to spit right now when he was shaking in fear. The doctor turned back to him, and he started to step toward him. "You, you're as guilty as that old bastard over there. You BURNED OUR WORK!" Pieces of flaming debris were starting to fall around them.

The fire had engulfed almost half of the building down from the roof. The air was growing thicker with black smoke, the fire raging on its own. Hinata was whimpering, looking back to where Suga was lying in the snow, Daichi with an arm over him in an attempt to cover him from any more gunfire. Their eyes watched in horror, but one move and they could be killed.

Hinata's hand slipped on the snow, and when he collapsed he quickly turned over onto his stomach to try and crawl toward them. He was crying, throat hoarse, and his body going numb.

A foot stomped down on his head when he was a good ten feet or so away from them. Katsumata was yelling for the doctor to stop, even after having gloated about being able to heal bullet injuries. But could he heal death? No. The dying? Yes. The dead? no. That was the first thing he tried to do with the blood.

"You're gonna get what you deserve." The man spat, and pressed his shoe hard against the side of Hinata's head.

"S-Suga-san!" Hinata cried out, reaching his hand. Suga reached back, sobbing. "Please! Don't shoot him, please!

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Katsumata shouted out, and he started to run toward the doctor then, only for the man to turn and fire at him. He missed, hitting the ground in front of him, but Katsumata fell backwards on his ass in the snow. The man turned quickly back to Hinata and he pointed the gun to his lower back. He pulled the trigger, and the bang went off.

Hinata's blood spattered into the snow, and Suga screamed, a long drawl of a wail.

"NOO! SHOUYOOO!" He shrieked, and the sheer adrenaline got him to crawl over as Daichi screamed, "HINATAAA!" The doctor stepped back, and that was when the black van pulled around and sped toward him at full speed. It hit him, knocking him away so hard that when he landed in the snow, his blood began soaking into it.

Nishinoya opened a door on the right side with a grim face. "Come on!" He called urgently. Suga grabbed Hinata up bridal style and wrapped him up in the previously dropped blanket, before carrying him into the van. Daichi followed and slammed the door shut behind them as Asahi started to speed away. That was the cue for Tanaka and Kuroo to step on the gas and follow.

In the black van, Hinata was hyperventilating, clinging to Suga who cradled him desperately in his arms.

"Shouyo, stay with me, okay? We-We're gonna fix it."

"H-Hurts...! It h-hurts, Suga-san..." Hinata whimpered, lip quivering as tears spilled from his eyes. Suga sobbed over him, reaching up to stroke his cheek. His fingers smeared blood onto Hinata's skin.

"I know. I know, it's gonna be okay. W-We'll fix it!" Suga cried out, resting their foreheads together. Hinata cried out softly in pain, and his breaths were shallow and unstable as he writhed in Suga's arms.

"It's gonna be fine, buddy, you're gonna be okay." Daichi said. Behind them, Yamaguchi was turning to look out the back window with tears streaming down his cheeks. He was angry, so angry that he couldn't control himself. He looked to that building, and he raised a hand, before he slowly closed it into a fist.

On the back of Tanaka's motorcycle, Ennoshita was stiff, holding on with one arm and his free hand clamped over his mouth as he fought to keep down last night's dinner. There was a crash, and his head whipped around to look back at the Facility. It was crumbling from the roof down. The building broke apart, and it collapsed to the ground in flames, shaking the Earth upon the collision.

"Chi, what was that?" Tanaka asked. Ennoshita didn't even have a voice.

Yamaguchi watched what he had done, and his fist shook then, but he kept a straight face until he turned to look at Tsukishima, whose eyes were wide. But the blond hurriedly took him into a hug when he started to cry. The whole time, Yamaguchi's eyes were on Hinata and all of the blood that was staining the blanket. Kageyama was unconscious in the last seat, he knew nothing of this.

He was the lucky one.

Nishinoya couldn't hold in his tears watching Hinata suffer. He turned to the front in the passenger seat, and he and Asahi shared a grim look.

Hinata's cries were agony to listen to. His labored breaths, Suga's accompanying sobs. Suga rocked Hinata back and forth, feeling sick that Hinata's blood was warming his numb hands. Only, Hinata wasn't getting any warmer. Daichi had started putting pressure to the wound a few moments ago, and the way Hinata had cried out broke something in him.

"It's okay." Suga whispered desperately, kissing his forehead. Hinata wasn't doing any better, but his grip was tight on the front of Suga's hoodie. The area was cramped with all three of their wings, but Suga appreciated the heat.

"S-Su--Suga--S-San..." Hinata whispered, gasping and shaking in his arms. Suga shushed him gently, and swallowed back another sob as he turned to Daichi.

"What's wrong, why isn't he healing? He should be healing! He's not _HEALING_!" He panicked. Daichi's own distraught eyes looked Hinata over for an answer. "He's losing too much blood, I think--I don't know." He lifted his hands to look at the bullet hole in the center of Hinata's stomach. Thankfully the bullet went all the way through. He wasn't sure he could bear digging into Hinata to find it.

"K-Kageyama...! W-Where--where's Kageyama?" Hinata asked, eyes feverishly searching all that he could see.

"He's unconscious, but he's okay." Suga said. Truthfully he didn't know if Kageyama was okay or not. But he didn't want to think he was dead back there. God, he couldn't take that.

"Kageyama!" Hinata called out, but there was no response. He coughed, and blood spurted out of his mouth, making Suga shriek. He used his bloodied sleeve to wipe at it, hardly able to see through his tears. He hadn't taken notice of the blood from his nose.

Hinata's soft, hoarse voice whispered again. "...Kage...yama. K-Ka--"

Suga froze. He halted his movements and he slowly looked back up to Hinata's face. Simultaneously, the boy's hand that had been clutching so tightly to Suga's hoodie, let go. His head dipped back limply over Suga's arm, and Suga frantically adjusted him.

"Sh-Shouyo...?" Suga croaked, his eyes finding Hinata's pale face. Those brown eyes so dark and lifeless. Open. Suga's breath caught in his throat and he began to shake him.

"Shouyo? _SHOUYO_!"

But there was no response. Hinata was cold, and his skin looked paper thin. His lips were parted in one last attempt to call Kageyama's name.

"SHOUYO! OH GOD, _NO_!" Suga screamed, and pulled Hinata up so he could bury his face in his hair. He screamed again, and cradling him tight. "NOT HIM! PLEASE, NOT HIM!"

Nishinoya was turned in his seat. "No! No, he can't be dead!" He called out. Asahi gripped the staring wheel, holding his breath so as not to cause a crash.

Yamaguchi sobbed into Tsukishima's shoulder, and the blond's face was turned away from the group.

Suga's crying was all that could be heard throughout the car.

"DON'T TAKE SHOUYO! PLEASE! DON'T TAKE HIM FROM ME! NOT SHOUYO! WAKE UP, SHOUYO, PLEASE!"

His cries carried on. But Hinata's were no more.


	21. Chapter 21

**[ON THE ROAD]**

"Hinata! Hinata, wake up!" Daichi was calling, and his voice was hoarse with desperation. His eyes were on the boy's face, stuck, refusing to move in the hopes that those eyes would open.

Suga was shaking Hinata again, shaking him, shaking him, fucking _shaking_ him, and not a single thing was happening. Suga's breaths were trembling, hiccuping as he hyperventilated. He was panicking, and when Hinata again didn't respond to his attempts to wake him, Suga's already wet cheeks were streaking over with new hot tears. The air was thick with the smell of Hinata's blood, and Suga felt that same blood seeping into his jeans, wetting them up and making him that much colder as the blood's warmth began to fade.

Suga felt sick, there was just no other way to put it. Not just emotionally, but physically. He could vomit right at this second if he weren't holding _him_.

"No, no, no! He's not dead, he's _not_ dead! Please, he can't be dead!" He cried, and shook Hinata so violently that Daichi grabbed his arm and held him still. Suga tried to yank away from his touch. "Don't fucking touch me, I have to wake him up!" He sobbed, and bared his teeth unintentionally. But his glare faltered when he saw Daichi had his bottom lip halfway pulled into his mouth, clearly holding back tears that he desperately didn't want to come out. "Kou..."

"No," Suga shook his head frantically. "Don't say it! He's gonna wake up, just--just let me-"

"Koushi, he's--he's not..."

"Stop! I can wake him up, just let me keep trying!" Suga pulled his arm away and turned back to Hinata, but he paused, because more blood was coming out of the boy's nose, trickling past his pale lips and his slack jaw, hanging from his chin. Suga worked to wipe the blood away, but all he did was smear it because he could barely see through his tears. "Come on, Shouyo, open your eyes. _PLEASE_..." He begged, sniffling heavily and letting out another sob after. "Please, God. Open your eyes." He said, and he let his forehead drop against Hinata's as he cradled him.

His ragged breaths and desperate cries slowly turned into low whimpers and hiccups as he held Hinata's body to his chest. "Shouyo...Shouyo, please. Please, I just got you back, don't do this. Don't do this to me... We came for you, you had to know we would. So wake up. W-Wake up and let me take you home..." And he started to cry harder, wrapping his wings solely around Shouyo in a subconscious attempt to keep him warm and hide him from any more harm.

In the back of the van, Yamaguchi was shaking, and he was cold, and his face so uncomfortably wet--but none of that mattered. Hinata was lying there, and it was all Yamaguchi could look at. The small bit of his open eye that he could see, his fringe wet from having his face pushed into the snow. The back of his head...wet with blood.

When one of Tsukishima's black wings lifted up over the front of Yamaguchi's face, Yamaguchi gladly turned to face the back window, crying out and clutching harder to his neck. "Kei--K-Kei, he's--they---th-they--k-killed--"

Tsukishima pushed his face into his shoulder, cutting off his sentence. He couldn't do it, he couldn't hear him say it aloud. He was dizzy. His arms around Yamaguchi were wavering, and he was shaking just as much. He told himself that it was from the cold. His body was in shock having his other half back all at once, too. But even so, he couldn't stop himself from looking over at Suga clutching the boy close, and Daichi leaning his back against the car door with his eyes trained on his own bloodied hands that failed to stop the bleeding.

Nishinoya's voice calling out made Tsukishima look up.

"Aren't you gonna try something else? Try again!" There were tears running down his face, but he wasn't making any effort to wipe them. "Hinata!" He called, and Tsukishima could hear Asahi mutter the yelling boy's name weakly. "Hinata, wake up, goddammit! Don't make what we did be for nothing! Wake up!" He shouted. "COME ON! WE CAN'T JUST LET HIM DIE!"

"NISHINOYA!" Said boy jumped and looked over to Asahi, who was gripping the wheel so hard that his knuckles were white. His shoulders were raised, and they trembled with every breath he took. He didn't look away from the road, but his face showed his grief in a stiff grimace. In a breaking voice, he said lowly, "Don't."

But Nishinoya shook his head incredulously. "Are you serious?! We're not trying!" He shouted, and he looked down to his hands. A blue wave of light faintly swept through the veins. "Let me. Let me use my powers to try to bring him back." He insisted, starting to take off his seat belt.

Daichi briefly considered it, and looked at Hinata and Suga. Suga wasn't making any move to let go of Hinata. The holes in their souls were devastatingly large. Daichi could feel it, it was like a cold chill that started at the back of his neck and spread over his chest and back. It was like being empty and somehow heavy at once. Hinata had slipped away, and they felt it. Daichi's tears pooled out now, and he shook his head.

"He's gone."

That statement practically echoed, it was so silent. Nishinoya's eyes were wide, and they looked from Daichi to the dead member of their group. Hinata, who once just wanted to play volleyball and pester people for tosses, and then just hoped to go home to his mother, was dead. It had been too long, and deep down Nishinoya knew it. But now the guilt was carving that hole inside him deeper.

How hadn't he tried to help him three minutes ago, the moment he stopped breathing? How had he watched dumbfounded instead of moving to try and bring him back? The electricity in his hands could've done something, right? Why didn't he think of it then, he was strong enough. But there was always the possibility that he could've given too much and worsened the situation. It was the not-knowing that was killing him.

Nishinoya looked to Suga, whose face was buried in Hinata's neck as he cradled him, and the waves of grief radiating off him intensified then. Nishinoya turned around and his teary eyes stared out the windshield. Asahi sniveled beside him, lowly whispering to him to put his seat belt back on.

_*_*_*_

**[ONE HOUR LATER]**

The nearest motel was still hours away, and they hadn't stopped driving since they started. The morning sun was blaring through the windows, and stomachs were wracked with hunger, but no one moved to eat. No one moved.

The horn of the white van honked twice, and Asahi watched it speed up around them and stop ahead. He pulled over behind it, and listened to the motorcycle engine stop behind them. He turned the engine off and rested his hands atop the wheel, sniffling deeply and blinking his burning eyelids hard. Through the rear view mirror he looked at Daichi, who was still sitting with his back to the door. His foot was up on the seat and his elbow propped up on it, that hand over his eyes.

"Daichi...we need to talk to them. We need a plan." He told him. Daichi raised his head and lowered his hand to press over his mouth. God, he looked awful. But they needed him now. Asahi couldn't bring himself to actually turn around, he knew he'd look at Hinata.

Suga's grief was still washing off of him in heavy, intense waves, and it hadn't lightened up in the past hour that they'd been in the car. It was either that making Asahi dizzy, or the fact that the brightest person in their group was dead right behind him. As everyone in the other van started getting out, Asahi glanced over to Nishinoya, who was facing out the passenger door window. Asahi was halfway sure he was asleep, but he decided to leave him alone.

To his surprise, Daichi was stepping out of the car, and so he followed, leaving the door open some. The felines were stretching and muttering to each other, and the two back doors of the plumbing van were open, revealing Akaashi and Bokuto still sitting inside, talking to each other about the graze wound in Bokuto's wing that still needed tending to.

Conversation slowly came to a stop as Daichi and Asahi stopped in front of the black van. Kuroo's face...he looked like he already knew after watching it happen. Daichi purposely didn't look at him, and Asahi glanced back at the black van when he heard feet rushing across the snow. Tanaka and Ennoshita had stopped at a window, looking through at Hinata. Asahi forced his gaze away.

For a long moment there was only silence among the others that they rescued. Asahi couldn't pick apart their expressions, but he knew there was something there. They were figuring out what happened, their gazes frequently flickering over to Tanaka, who was making the most awful attempts at saying Hinata's name as Ennoshita tried to pull him away from the car. Ennoshita managed, and let Tanaka drop his face into his shoulder. Asahi closed his eyes in a wince, listening to Tanaka's struggling breaths and angered curses of wanting to "kill those Facility bastards." Ennoshita was gently shushing him until his words were nothing more than stifled cries.

Daichi shifted his weight from one foot to another and forced his gaze to the ground. "Um..." He sniffled. "That gunshot, um...that you all probably heard..." It was painful to listen to. His voice was hoarse and low, Asahi could barely even hear him.

Daichi tilted his head back and looked up to the bright blue sky speckled so prettily with clouds. All it reminded him of was Hinata, the way he smiled when he flapped off into the sky and soared so joyfully. Daichi raised his hands to his hips and his throat was tight as he looked back down to the ground again. He sniffled and raised a hand to wipe underneath his nose. "H-Hina-" He clenched his jaw and had to force the words out. "H-Hinata's dead."

"_What_?" That was Kenma, pupils vertical and thin from the sunlight. "Shouyo's dead?" He asked, and Daichi turned his back to the cats to wipe at the uncontrollable rush of tears trickling out of his eyes. Kenma opened his mouth to protest the truth, but Kuroo grabbed his shoulder and turned him so he could look at him.

"Kenma, I saw it. That gunshot..." Kuroo knew it would wreck him, and averted his gaze. "One of the doctors shot him."

The smaller feline was shaking his head. "Why didn't you stop it? Why didn't anyone try to stop it?"

"Because if we moved, we'd be dead, too. We couldn't do anything, I'm sorry." Kuroo replied, and Kenma shrugged off his hand, running over to the black van. Kuroo didn't try to stop him, and instead somberly ran a hand back through his hair as Yaku followed after Kenma. Kuroo looked to Asahi with low eyes. "Do you guys have extra blankets? And any first-aid stuff for Bokuto?"

Bokuto stubbornly called out. "I'm fine!" But Akaashi skeptically poked the spot next to the gash on the top of his wing and watched him wince. "Let them help." He whispered somberly.

Asahi went to grabbing the stuff while Daichi leaned against the hood of the car and murmured to Kuroo.

At the window of the black van, Kenma's hands were pressed to the glass.

It was true. There was Shouyo, so pale, so beautiful. He looked like a sleeping little prince, even wrapped up in a sheet soaked in his own blood. How morbid when one was talking of their friend's corpse. "Shouyo...no..." The tears came quickly to his eyes, and he rested his forehead against the cold glass, letting it numb that spot. He recognized Suga cradling Hinata. Suga hadn't even looked over. He just kept stroking the boy's cheek with the backs of his red-stained fingers, eyes on him and only him. He looked like he'd been that way forever, like if he moved from that position, it would look strange and unnatural.

Kenma wished he could cry harder, that his crying wasn't simply tears and sniffling. He should have been sadder, but the truth was that he was glad that Hinata didn't have to suffer anymore. He could sleep, and be warm and happy wherever he was. The little prince could rest in peace. With that thought came a wave of heavy guilt, and he was smiling as the tears poured from his eyes even harder.

Kenma took in a shaky breath and let out a noise between a laugh and a sob. And that laughter turned into broken sobs as his smile broke away and he wished that he had Hinata back. Kenma didn't fight the hands on his shoulders pulling him away from the window, but he palmed at it until Yaku turned him around and hugged him tightly, holding him there so he couldn't turn back to the gruesome scene.

Yaku stroked his hand over Kenma's hair, and he closed his own eyes, but now the image was seared into his brain. He let it stay, lest it become even more persistent. "It's...It's alright... Let's go back." The truth was, he couldn't bear the scent of the blood. It was so strong, so aggressively strong... If he smelled it any longer, he'd vomit.

Back between the vans, Daichi was resting both hands on the hood of the black one, his head dropped between his shoulders as he tried to keep his heavy nausea down. Kuroo was beside him with a hand on his back, eyes focused on looking through the windshield of the car, where he was lost looking at the boy's face. He was just fine a few days ago, smiling and talking. _Breathing_.

Asahi came back from putting the blankets and first-aid in the back of the white van, and his heart sank watching Daichi. "You don't have to force yourself to drive, I can keep doing it." He told him. Daichi's tears dripped onto the hood of the car, melting the light layer of frost that had accumulated on it. He was quiet for a bit, and his head was still down when he murmured that Asahi should worry about Kageyama.

Asahi didn't object. With everyone else preoccupied, someone needed to look after the injured boy. So, he made his way back and opened the door to the last seat where Kageyama was still lying, still unconscious. He hadn't moved since they put him in the car, but at least he was breathing. Well, Asahi _thought_ he was. He paused, and waited. Kageyama was completely still. Pale.

Asahi's stomach dropped, and he put a knee on the seat to lean in, where he put a hand to the boy's chest and waited. He wasn't sure if he felt a heart beat. If there was one, it was way too light. He moved his fingers to Kageyama's neck in a panic, feeling for his pulse and pausing there. Tsukishima watched him, holding onto a sleeping Yamaguchi(he must have cried himself to sleep pretty quickly).

When Asahi's shoulders relaxed, so did Tsukishima's, and for a moment they glanced knowingly at each other before Asahi was starting to un-bandage Kageyama's shoulder. The damp bandages were lukewarm, but the fact that they weren't cold was reassuring. With shaky hands, Asahi leaned Kageyama over so he could disinfect both of the bullet holes, and he tried his best to effectively bandage his shoulder the way Daichi had. He attended to the gash on the bottom of his foot next. He didn't know what caused that one, but it was bleeding quite a bit, so he made sure he wrapped it up tight.

He sat there putting pressure on Kageyama's shoulder to stop the last bit of bleeding, anxiously watching him for a sudden halt in breathing. Tsukishima continued to watch, too. Asahi wasn't sure if he moved at all, either.

When one of the doors finally opened, Asahi was prepared to start driving again, but Daichi was climbing into the driver seat without a word. Asahi decided not to argue, and let him start up the car.

_*_*_*_

**[AFTERNOON]**

They arrived at the motel a full two minutes ago, but Suga was still sitting in the car holding Hinata's body. Daichi's feet felt like pure lead, and lifting one took more strength than prying open that door during their escape. That felt like an eternity ago, being tortured in that place. Certainly not for the felines or the three of their own.

Daichi, standing in the doorway of their motel room, glanced to the left where the felines, Akaashi and Bokuto were staying. Akaashi and Bokuto were trailing in behind a blanket-wrapped Kenma, and Akaashi gave Daichi a small, weak smile. There was happiness, but also sadness, and Daichi chose to take it as Akaashi being genuine. He'd accept that.

He turned his gaze over to the black van where Tanaka was trying to get Suga out. The sun was covered up in clouds, and it was so windy, it was freezing out. Tanaka was rubbing his arms even with his hoodie on, and as Daichi walked up, he stepped back to make room for him. "He's not coming out. I've been trying this whole time, but he won't fucking-" Tanaka stopped and lowered his head. His voice was low and raspy. "He's not moving."

Daichi wasn't sure who he was talking about, and it cruelly stabbed him with the reminder of what they had just lost. _Who_ they had just lost. "I've got him. Go inside where it's warm."  
Tanaka didn't argue, and Daichi was grateful, watching him go all the way inside before opening the car door and gazing at Suga for a few moments.

Suga's lips parted. "Leave us here." It was the softest Daichi had ever heard his voice, and he held his breath to keep new tears from rushing up to the surface. He wasn't leaving Suga in there. Aside from the obvious reasons like needing the gas and not being able to leave the heat on for him, he needed him now. It would be cruel to make him suffer alone.  
Before he could respond, Suga was whispering again. His eyes were red and glossy, and his cheeks were shiny with dry tears. He wasn't even looking up, just down at Hinata, while Daichi was forcing himself to keep his eyes on Suga.

"I let him die. I let him be killed right there." Suga whispered, and Daichi shook his head.

"No--God, no. It wasn't anyone's fault-"

"Don't lie to me!" Suga snapped. Daichi was still, and then sat down beside him, wrapping his arms around him and pressing Suga's face into his shoulder. "Daichi, it was! It was my--m-my-"

But Daichi shushed him, caressing his head and whispering back. "It wasn't. Okay? It wasn't you." Daichi reached his hand down to where Suga's side had been grazed, and felt him flinch. But he needed to remind him. He knew he couldn't make him believe that, but he was going to say it until Suga at least considered believing it.

"D-Daichi, he--he _called_ me. He called me, and I couldn't help him! He was right _there_, and I-"

"Tell me it's my fault, Koushi."

"..."

"Tell me it's my fault that this happened. Because I was there, too. I was right there, and I was just as helpless as you."

Suga could feel Daichi shaking, and said nothing more after that. He let Daichi help him out of the car, and the whole time Daichi looked the slightest bit guilty. When Daichi tried to take Hinata, Suga stepped back abruptly.  
Daichi lowered his head and instead pulled out one of the leftover sheets and led Suga into the motel room.

_*_*_*_

When the cold of the outside air washed over Kageyama's face, he opened his eyes, brows furrowed at the immediate pain burning in his shoulder.  
The trunk door was open and Daichi was standing there, having opened it, but his gaze was low, and he hadn't noticed he was even awake. Kageyama didn't notice the look on Daichi's face, either.

"Where are we...?" Kageyama called out in a raspy voice, and Daichi's gaze flickered up to his eyes. He let out a breath of relief and moved to sit on the edge of the trunk, only for Kageyama to try and sit up way too quickly. Daichi pressed his hand to his uninjured shoulder and steadied him. "Hey, hold on, hold on. Wait a second." Daichi told him. But Kageyama was looking into the car and not seeing anyone. Through the windows he could see some of the felines through a motel room door, and his own group through one a few doors left of that one.

Daichi was helping him sit up slowly, and Kageyama grunted, raising his hand to his shoulder. It felt heavy and it was burning. He regretted touching it. He pulled his hand away, looking for blood.

"Kageyama." Said boy had forgotten that Daichi was even there. He looked up, and Daichi's grim expression made his stomach drop. "There's something...you have to know."

"What's going on?" Kageyama asked, and he looked around again, realizing that he smelled blood. Familiar blood. "Hinata... I-Is he in there? Did he get down? Where is here?" He asked, and tried to climb down out of the trunk in a hurry.

Daichi grabbed him. "Wait. Just--Just wait, Kageyama." Kageyama was trying to shrug him off, letting out a growl of frustration when his movements brought on more pain. He grunted as he pushed himself out of the trunk. Daichi came around in front of him, holding out his hand to his other shoulder. Kageyama could barely stand on his foot, but he didn't care, the snow was numbing it.

Hinata was all he could think of. After all that they went through together this past, he needed to see him right now. He was almost excited, his heart had that warmth again, and he knew he should have been happy at the thought of seeing him. So...why was everyone looking at him like that? With those _faces_?

Kageyama's eyebrows strained. "Let me go see Hinata, I need to make sure he's okay after-"

Kageyama stopped, watching Daichi lower his head in shame. Kageyama was frozen for a moment, his eyes widened just a little more. "What...happened to Hinata? Daichi-san, what happened?"

Daichi's shoulders were shaking, and it was then that Kageyama's eyes looked up through the Murder's motel room door and he felt both a heavy wave of grief wash over him, and a suffocating sense of pure _dread_. He took in a shuddered breath and he got threw himself forward to start running. "HINATA!" He screamed as his eyes found the bloodied and white human-shaped bundle lying on one of the beds, bulky from the wings wrapped with it.

Daichi grabbed him fast, but neither of them acknowledged the shoulder wound. "KAGEYAMA, STOP!" He shouted, and tried to pull him back from rushing in on his foot.

"GET OFF! HE'S NOT OKAY, WHAT'D THEY DO?!" Kageyama growled out, trying to yank away. The blanket around him fell, and he pushed his wings back in an attempt to throw Daichi off. But the older and stronger male was wrapping his wings around him and dragging him to the side of the van, out of view of the doors. He pushed him hard against the vehicle, but the boy was still screaming out for Hinata.

"Kageyama, listen to me! Calm down!"

Kageyama still struggled, but Daichi slammed him against the car again, and Kageyama grabbed the wrist of the arm holding him there by the front of his shirt. He shook his head, and his eyes burned even though no tears had formed yet. "What happened to him?!" He asked, squirming.

"They shot him, alright?!" Daichi shouted at him, and Kageyama froze, watching Daichi's face crumble. "He's dead, Kageyama. He died..." Daichi let go of Kageyama's shirt and wrapped his arms around the boy, who didn't hug back. Arms at his sides, Kageyama's wide eyes gazed emptily at the snowy ground, and he couldn't control his wings drooping behind him, touching the snow.

"No... You're lying, let me go."

"Why would I lie about this?!" Daichi snapped, and he hugged him tighter to keep from pulling away. "Kageyama...I'm sorry. I'm sorry you couldn't be there." Daichi whispered hoarsely. "But know that he you there, okay?" Daichi could almost hear Hinata crying out for Kageyama. Like a permanent echo, he heard it over and over again.

Kageyama took in another shuddered breath, and the icy wind blew against his eyes. It was either that making them water, or...the alternative. He hadn't even started to process it. He felt that chill in his core, and he felt the weight of Suga's grief. But part of him thought that if he walked through that door, Hinata would come out of the bathroom all changed into his old hoodie and pants, and he'd smile because he was happy to be alive and happy that he was alive. Hinata would run toward him and he'd yell at him for scaring him by getting shot.

Or maybe Hinata would be angry with him for not staying conscious after getting shot. He'd ignore him because he got shot and forced Hinata to have to jump and save himself. As dumb as that sounded, Kageyama would take either of those over what reality currently had to offer him.

"He...needed me...?" Kageyama asked just below a whisper. "He died...wanting me there...?" His voice broke, and Daichi pressed a hand to the back of his head, pushing the boy's face into his shoulder.

He couldn't bring himself to answer that as more guilt hit him all at once. For a good five minutes or so, he held Kageyama, held his shaking form and caressed his head in an attempt to bring him as much comfort as possible, which he didn't think would be much. Even though they stood there for so long, Daichi didn't hear him crying. He felt the tears soak into his hoodie, but he didn't hear a voice anymore, and that terrified him.

Daichi pat Kageyama's back and felt the boy tense even more under his touch. Kageyama stepped back from him and his face was stiff, grim. But it was all over it.

Daichi closed the trunk and then started to lead him over to their room, watching as the other door closed and the lock clicked. When Daichi crossed the threshold of the room, Kageyama did not.

"Kage..." Daichi trailed off looking back at him. Kageyama's shoulders were raised and his lip was quivering just barely noticeably--either from the cold or the obvious, maybe both. He was holding his breath, staring at the covered body on the bed.

Daichi sucked in a breath and took a few steps back over to him, where he gently took his arm and the center of his back. "Just don't look." He tried to ease as he pulled him--Kageyama stumbled a bit--into the room, but Kageyama's eyes were wide. Daichi wanted to steer him to the side near Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, but Kageyama was...walking to the bed.

The closer the boy got, the shakier his hands became, and more strained his eyebrows became. "H-Hinata...?" He whispered when he was a few feet away. Suga looked up at him from where his face was in the bed, but Kageyama didn't look. "Hinata, get up..." Kageyama whispered again. Yamaguchi, sitting on the floor with Tsukishima underneath the tv, pressed his hand over his mouth, looking like he very well may vomit.

"Hinata, get up!" They could hear his throat straining, his breaths wavering as his hands clenched into fists. "GET UP! Say something, heal yourself! They said you could do it, so heal yourself! _WAKE UP!_" He shouted, and he pressed his hands to the mattress and tugged the sheet from Hinata's face despite the pain in his shoulder.

"HINATA! STOP DOING THIS, SAY SOMETHING TO ME!" He screamed, and Daichi grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms and saying, "That's enough, Kageyama!"

But Kageyama grit his teeth and tugged away, dropping to his knees beside the bed hopelessly. "Why now?! Why would you do this right now?! We made it! We just made it, I promised you!" He cried out, and his shoulders shook. Daichi stopped trying to grab him, and he averted his gaze. Kageyama trembled, reaching underneath the sheet to take Hinata's hand.

"I promised we'd get out, and we did. So wake up." He cried, and he pulled Hinata's stiffening, cold hand out to press the palm of it to his wet cheek. He hiccuped and he held his other hand to Hinata's forearm so his hand would never fall.

"Don't do this, Hinata. Please... Come back, I'm sorry! Hinata, I'm sorry, _PLEASE!_"

Most of the others watched him. Suga shielded his face so Kageyama didn't have to watch him cry, but the others were watching in pure shock. But they started to get it now.

They started to get Kageyama's reaction. His attachment. Watching him cling to Hinata's hand like that, who wouldn't understand?  
  
Kageyama let himself crumble into Hinata's hand, muttering an apology over and over again. His gaze rested on his face for minutes at a time as he cried, and then he would close his eyes and hide in Hinata's hand. It was only lukewarm from his own face pressing into it.

There was no trace of Hinata's warmth, and Kageyama felt the joy of escape slipping away from him. What was the point if he couldn't share it with Hinata? With the one person he promised it to?  
Hinata, the one person he needed more than anything else.

"Hinata...Don't _leave_ me."


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooookay, I know this is way overdue, but school and life have been in the way of me writing, and I have been super dry inspiration-wise. However, this story is NOT over! I intend to complete it, so rest assured!  
Thank you for your support, and for being so patient! I wouldn't be able to keep writing without it, and this story is not the only one I'm working on at the moment, so it's so much appreciated!
> 
> Also...I may or may not be working on some kind of HQ vampire AU...it's not officially going to be posted, but I have been experimenting with some ideas for it. :)
> 
> Happy Halloween!!!

_ **[THE NEXT DAY, EARLY MORNING]** _

Suga stood up too quickly, but that's to be expected when one panics. The first thing he noticed was that he was alone on the bed. He remembered climbing up and lying beside Hinata at some point during the night, curling his wing over the corpse and unintentionally whacking Kageyama in the head with it when he forgot he was there, resting his head on the mattress beside Hinata's hand.

Come to think of it, he didn't see Kageyama either. Or Daichi, or Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, or the others. Suga seemed to be alone in the room. His wings raised and his feathers ruffled as his gaze darted around the room in search of Hinata, and as he got up onto his knees, he could see on the side of the bed, Kageyama...holding Hinata, asleep with his head back against the nightstand that separated the two beds.

Suga felt dizzy, he felt tension in his head, behind his eyes, in his jaw, from crying so much, and in a shudder that spread from his shoulders to his wings, he jumped up and ran straight into the bathroom to dry heave into the toilet. His stomach had turned in an instant, not because of a smelling corpse--interestingly enough, there wasn't even so much as a whiff of decomposing Hinata--and yet, he felt sick to his fucking stomach.

For minutes, Suga just sat there over the toilet, panting and heaving as he tried to recycle the events of the day before through his mind. His wings drooped uselessly on the floor, and he swallowed, taking short breaths and trying to steady himself.

He heard the motel room door opening and the low voices of Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. He wanted to stop, but another gag--this time one that definitely had _something_ with it--made him lean back over the toilet and vomit.

_*_*_*_

Tsukishima regretted coming back inside when he was forced to see Kageyama sitting between the queen size beds with Hinata's corpse across his lap. Kageyama looked up at them when they entered, and Tsukishima's stomach dropped at the sight of him. Those bags under his eyes...were they there before or after Hinata was killed? He never got a good look at him after he fell.

Kageyama, deeming the two of them unimportant, turned his gaze down to Hinata, who was almost covered up by the white sheet. His wings were visible, and Tsukishima was pretty sure that those feathers that were scattered across the carpet around Kageyama belonged to him. They were small enough to be his or Nishinoya's, but Nishinoya had slept in the corner across the room.

The sound of retching stole their attention, and he heard a soft gasp from Yamaguchi. "Suga-san?" He called, holding onto Tsukishima's arm and peering across the room to the bathroom where the door was cracked. Without waiting for an answer, Yamaguchi ventured off toward it, and Tsukishima decided he would pick up the feathers. He wished he knew why. He could leave them there for someone else to bother, and yet the sight of them made him too sick to do so.

He made his way over slowly, and when it looked like Kageyama didn't even see him, he was crouching, reaching down for the feather that was nearest to his own feet.

"DON'T!"

Tsukishima jumped, and his gaze darted up to Kageyama's face, which was contorted in a snarl close to something hateful. Or something in unbearable agony.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

Tsukishima's eyebrows creased in disbelief. "They're everywhere, I'm just-"

"I SAID _GO!_" Kageyama shouted, and for a moment his eyes flashed in their blue, forcing Tsukishima to drop the feather. It drifted slowly to the carpet, just like Hinata had done, only Suga was there to catch Hinata, and nothing caught the feather. Tsukishima felt his body moving before he could stop it, and he was standing up, backing away until his back smacked against the wall. That was when Kageyama released him. Tsukishima felt scorching inside, like rage, but a rage that he'd witnessed rather than hosted. Like an imprint left behind by Kageyama's grip. He felt dizzy and he felt like he couldn't breathe, bringing a hand to his chest and letting his legs give out so he could slide down the wall.

Kageyama was already looking down at Hinata's face again, but Tsukishima was stiff and speechless, watching him gaze at Hinata's pale, motionless face.

Kageyama reached up the take tufts of Hinata's orange hair between his fingers. It was still soft, still so very soft. Kageyama didn't know if it was supposed to be, but he didn't care. He'd confront it when Hinata's hair was no longer soft.  
  


_Hinata was watching their hands too now, heart filling with a foreign warmth and familiarity. It felt different than holding onto Suga or Yamaguchi, or his mother(what did that feel like again? Even that stood separately from holding onto Suga). It felt close, but even now, he and Kageyama had never been this close. Then again, there was that time the other night when Kageyama comforted him after the first blood tests, and the other day when he protected him with his wing from Katsumata. Even during those times, Hinata didn't want to be apart from Kageyama._

_Like now. He didn't want to be separated from anyone else. Hinata couldn't of course say that it was just because he was afraid of being alone- and while that was true, it wasn't just that. He wanted to stay with Kageyama. Kageyama barely heard the question, too focused on their hands, but he answered._

_"My mom used to have a lot of surgeries when I was a kid, so I'm used to the idea-"_

_"Are you _scared_?"_

_Kageyama closed his mouth, and he nodded. It was then that Hinata leaned up and wrapped his arms around Kageyama's neck, burying his face in his shoulder._  
_"I'm gonna be here when you get back. I'll be waiting for you, Kageyama-kun. Okay?"_

_Kageyama's eyes had gone wide, and his hands trembled at his sides as his throat closed up and his tears threatened to burst. He wrapped his arms around Hinata's smaller form and held onto him for his own sake, lip quivering as he started to cry. Hinata nuzzled into his shoulder, holding him securely._

_"I'm gonna be here waiting for you. So just get through this so you can be better. That way you won't have to hurt so bad when we get out." He whispered, his own tears dripping down his face for what seemed like the hundredth time._

_Kageyama opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He grit his teeth and squeezed Hinata- not too hard, but enough to secure him against his chest.  
_

Hinata had relied on him even then. He'd relied on him to come out of that surgery okay. Those nights when he was so afraid, so desperate to get away from that horrible, horrible place, he relied on Kageyama. When Yamaguchi coughed up blood that morning, Kageyama had truly understood when he saw Hinata's face, that he needed to be there for him. He had to, it wouldn't be fair to leave him alone even though he himself was so terribly afraid. Kageyama remembered hugging Hinata when he came to see him after the surgery. His warmth, his scent, his smaller arms _squeezing back_.

A year ago, Kageyama wouldn't have held him like that, and he wouldn't have even wanted to. But all Kageyama could wish right now was that he had hugged him more. That he had held him more.  
  
Before, he'd thought that if they were together, nothing could take that away from them. But Kageyama hated himself now for forgetting the reality that they were objects. Nothing more than people turned into someone else's possessions, toys. How could he forget that they weren't immortal? He was so stupid, how could he let him die like that? He never should have dropped him no matter how quickly his arms went numb after that bullet hit him. He should have thrown him when he had the chance, and maybe they could have gotten down together.

Even if Kageyama wanted to cry, his eyes were so dry that there was no chance of tears. Blinking burned, breathing made him ache. Existing when Hinata no longer did...made him wish for death.

It shouldn't have been Hinata. He was the first person that Kageyama thought of when he asked himself who deserved the world, _freedom_ the most. Not himself, even though at one point he selfishly thought he did. The only person who could be the most deserving was the boy that was in his arms. The boy he wanted to give it to.

In the bathroom, Yamaguchi was standing over Suga, rubbing his shoulder, and even though touch was making it worse, Suga wouldn't tell Yamaguchi that.

"There you go, just let it all out, Suga-san. You'll feel better."

All Suga could feel was misery, a misery worse than the experiments, and worse than when the boys were taken. Even still, he couldn't bring himself to turn Yamaguchi away. Suga had never felt such guilt ripping through him before, for he hadn't realized until now that his thoughts had mostly neglected both Yamaguchi and Kageyama for the past week. Suga leaned back from the toilet bowl, sniffling and wiping his tears on his sleeves. Some of the dried blood from Hinata's nose that was still staining his sleeve, lightly smeared onto his cheek, but he was too distracted to see Yamaguchi flinch at the sight of it.

"Tadashi," He called out, and waved Yamaguchi closer. When Yamaguchi crouched, the older male got up onto his knees and wrapped his arms around the younger's neck, burying his face in his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Yamaguchi didn't quite move to hug back, startled by the sudden gesture. But in a matter of seconds, he was burying his face in Suga's shoulder. His scent...was now a mixture of blood and oranges. But nothing at all like a blood orange. _Hinata_ smelled like oranges, ironically, but just faintly. Most of his scent had been Suga, so Yamaguchi could smell that unexplainable trace of coconut that was Suga. But it was hard to find under the citrus and the iron.

Yamaguchi's eyes were tearing up before he knew they were. He couldn't control it, nuzzling his face into Suga's shoulder and then his neck--something about surrounding himself in his scent was so comforting--as his wings started to droop, and he let out a sob. "S-Suga-san-"

"I know, I know, Tadashi. I'm so sorry." Suga cried softly, clutching the other boy close and wrapping his wings around him--which was hard to do in this tiny bathroom, his left wing ended up pinned between the wall and Yamaguchi. But still, he held the boy and rocked back and forth lightly, running his fingers through his hair and shushing his cries.

God, this felt so good. Yamaguchi was warm, and Suga didn't feel any of his blood seeping into his clothes. He didn't feel him going limp, or hear him crying his last breaths. Suga backed up and cupped Yamaguchi's cheeks. "I'm sorry we took so long, we--we came as quick as we could. Did--Tadashi, did they hurt you? What did they do?" He asked frantically, and swiped some of Yamaguchi's growing hair out of his eyes. As he waited, he watched Yamaguchi's lip quiver, his eyebrows strain, and his face contort into something that Suga found painful to look at.

"I k-killed them, Suga-san, I killed people! I killed-"

"Who? Who did you kill?"

Yamaguchi was starting to hyperventilate. He was trembling, and he was clinging to Suga's wrists. "_All_ of them."

Then that noise from before...was him? No, that couldn't be at all...he wasn't strong enough when he was conscious. Right?

Suga could hear the pipes under the cabinets beside them trembling. Following the revelation, Suga's eyes were wide, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything too quickly when Yamaguchi was looking at him with the eyes of a helpless doe. Suga lowered his voice, "Hey, shh. Shh, it's okay. I'm right here." He tried to soothe, stroking the boy's cheeks with his thumbs and gently tugging him back into a hug as he listened to him sob.

Yamaguchi's tears soaked into his hoodie, and his grip tightened around Suga as the shower pole shook, rattling the rings that held up the curtain. Suga rubbed at his head, and he hushed him again, feeling an expression of dread creep onto his own face.

If Yamaguchi said he'd killed _all_ of them, then just what had he become capable of in the week that he was gone?

_*_*_*_

It was freezing out here. The winter clouds above bathed the land in a somber gray. Lev thought it was fitting. The doors to the white van were open, so he sat with his legs hanging off the back of the edge, listening to the others converse out of sight. They stood on the side of the white van parked in a new corner between the two motel buildings, hidden well that way from anyone who might pass and see them.

He could hear Daichi, Kuroo, Akaashi and Yaku, talking about an alternative to the motels, and Bokuto was mostly just listening. From what Lev could hear over his own shivering was that Kuroo's place was probably closest to them. It was far, and they had no idea where the nearest gas station was, but Daichi was jogging back over to the black van to pull out the map. The other Karasuno boys were sitting inside of it, enveloped in blankets, and Lev understood that. He didn't want to see Hinata's body, let alone sleep near it.

Lev was fine watching them, until he heard thin branches rustling overhead. He craned his neck back to look up, pupils going thinner from the brighter light. Nearly at the top of this tree that was mostly bare of leaves, was a pigeon. Lev watched it intently for a few seconds, watching it groom underneath its wing and ruffle its feathers up(He wondered if the Karasuno boys did that too--he tried to imagine Daichi sticking his face under his own wing, and it looked weird), and before he knew it, he was sliding out the back of the van and dropping his numb feet into the snow. His steps crunched softly as he made his way over to the tree, keeping his eyes on the bird.

"What're you doing?" Lev paused and looked over where he'd forgotten Yamamoto was crouched. The older boy was watching him with lowered brows probably from exhaustion, against a tree just off to the side. None of them really slept. Yamamoto was angry earlier because according to him, Lev purrs very, very loudly.

Lev was pretty sure he didn't purr in his sleep. Maybe he snored, and Yamamoto just thought it was purring. Well, wait...Kuroo-san purrs when he sleeps sometimes. But Lev thought that was snoring. It didn't sound like snoring all the time, but...no one purred much otherwise. Was it purring? Maybe it was- "Dude. Are you fucking awake?" Yamamoto grunted, and Lev snapped out of the trance.

"Huh?" He asked genuinely, his long tail of light gray swaying back and forth curiously. Yamamoto's eyes watched it, following left and right, and back again.

"Where're you going? They don't want you going anywhere."

Lev looked back up to the bird. "I'm not, I just--Look, I found a bird!" He said, and Yamamoto rolled his eyes. "Okay, so it's a fucking pigeon. Don't climb that tree."

Lev looked back at Yamamoto and Yamamoto's eyebrows raised slightly when Lev's eyes were excited. Even after the death of Hinata, something could steal his attention away. But that's just how Lev had been recently. Going this way and that, wandering away from those shithead doctors. Getting...in trouble. Yamamoto felt a chill run down his spine, but he shook it off, curling up in the snow.

It wasn't comfortable trying to sleep somewhere so cold, but no one except for Kenma stuck around in their motel room. Yamamoto was covered in goosebumps, some from the cold while others were from the fact that he surely felt eyes on him.

Yes, Kuroo and Yaku were occasionally glancing over at him, but that was typical. This didn't feel like that. He'd say something eventually, but he heard that enormous crash during the drive, and he was sure everyone else did, too. He just didn't see what caused it, and not knowing if those people were dead or coming after them was more than nerve-wracking.  
Yamamoto stood, and with a few steps, he was climbing into the back of the white van where his feet would be a little less numb and he could doze off.

_*_*_*_

Yaku watched Yamamoto climb into the van, and then took one last glance at Lev. The tall boy was watching something flutter around his head, but Lev knew the rule not to go anywhere, so Yaku wasn't worried. Rather, he was too occupied to worry about whether or not Lev would run off. It was baffling how easily Lev got distracted... Come to think of it, Yaku was distracted, too.  
He turned back to the conversation they were having.

Daichi's arms were crossed over his chest, wings wrapped around himself in an effort to stave off the invasive cold, and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration--he kept glancing to his boys in the black van and Yaku didn't blame him. Daichi's gaze was glued to the snowy ground--the snow was higher than last night--for five long seconds.

"...And you want to go back to the place they took you from? Just think about that--These people already knew where you lived if they were following you." He said, slowly bringing his gaze back up to look at Kuroo. Yaku looked up at him too, and Kuroo's face was...hard to read. Yaku didn't know what to make of his dull gaze. He looked like he knew that their choices were limited. But they all knew that. Kuroo looked like he was trying his best.

"You got some better ideas? I won't make you pay rent."

Daichi didn't laugh at the joke, though it made the corner of Yaku's mouth twitch before the somber overtone of the morning took over again.  
An exhausted-looking Akaashi chimed in, holding onto Bokuto's upper arm with his eyes on Yaku. "The five of you could blend into Tokyo better than the rest of us could. You should go."

Bokuto shook his head instantly at that. "No way. If something happens, the rest of us won't know, and we won't be able to help." He said, and Kuroo nodded, seeming relieved by his point. It was true, but... Yaku frowned and spoke up. "There are too many of us to be inconspicuous in one apartment. Twelve of us have wings." He sighed, and reached up to scratch his head as he tried to think. His ears got in the way of his hand, and he felt them twitch under his fingers, before sheepishly lowering his hand.

Kuroo's apartment had been their destination the night they were taken... God, the last night he saw his parents. Did they still live in Tokyo?

"We don't have a single better solution. We don't have any cash, we don't have _anything_. Where else can we go?" Kuroo said.

As right as he was, they couldn't all just hide away. The most Yaku and the rest of the felines could do was hide their ears and tails, but their eyes...how many pairs of sunglasses would they be stealing? The others, their wings were too big to hide. How were they supposed to hide those?

"Daichi?" The group looked to the crows' motel room door, and poking his head out was a visibly distressed Suga. He looked exhausted as he waved Daichi over. Daichi sighed. "We'll figure this out. We should all stay together at least. Let's leave it for now." He was walking over to Suga, leaving the four of them to sigh and look at each other. The adrenaline from their escape the day before had gradually morphed into paranoia.

Standing out in the open like this was so strange after being confined for so long. "Can we go back inside? I want to check on Kozume." Yaku sighed, and Kuroo hummed, gaze distracted with watching the other crows through the other van's windows. Truthfully, Kuroo had forgotten about all of them. It was like they weren't even there. Maybe that's how they wanted it...after yesterday.

Kuroo, wrapping his arm around Yaku's shoulders, started to guide him back toward their motel room. His eyes burned when they blinked, for he didn't get any sleep the night before. Not because of Lev's sleep-purring habit, or because Bokuto and Akaashi stayed up to whisper to each other. Kuroo's mind had been restless.

They were free, but it hit him harder than it should have that Hinata was dead. He'd just seen him a few days ago, and now there was nothing left of him. Kuroo had only seen his body when they arrived yesterday, but he could still see it, and he saw it all night long. Pale and limp, blood smeared on his skin.

Kenma hadn't said a single word since. He'd laid away from everyone else, which, even though it was nothing new, still made Yaku's ears drop without him realizing so.

When they walked into the room, Kenma was still asleep in the corner of the room, only recognizable as a lump of blankets. He'd dragged every blanket in the room over himself. Yaku didn't have the heart to ask for any of them back as he broke away from Kuroo and made a beeline straight for the bundle. Kuroo followed.

Meanwhile, Akaashi was collapsing on the left bed beside the door, dropping his face into his palms in defeat. Bokuto knelt at his feet, eyes softening with worry. "Keiji," he whispered, trying to look at his face. "What is it? Are you cold?"

When Akaashi shook his head and Bokuto saw those tears trailing down his wrists, his heart broke. Akaashi was shaking. Bokuto really did think he was cold, but he also knew that there was no way that was the only problem. "H-Hey, don't cry! It's okay, we'll--we'll go somewhere. Don't cry." He said. But Akaashi ignored him. He probably didn't mean to do it, certainly not out of spite or anything, but it still hurt Bokuto that he couldn't get through to him. "Keiji...?"

No response. Instead of pressing further, Bokuto laid his head on Akaashi's lap and let him cry. He didn't want to push him to speak if he couldn't speak. If his words couldn't reach him, then he would let his touch soothe as much as it could. Bokuto wrapped his arms around Akaashi's waist, holding onto him, and hoping that whatever this was could be enough. It hadn't occurred to him that he could move up to the bed and hold him properly. But the desperation of his drop to the carpet planted him right there.

Outside, Lev had climbed into the tree and caught that little bird, before he excitedly trotted back to the motel room--leaving Yamamoto in the van--to show everyone what he brought. When no one wanted any, he sat himself down beside the door and started to eat, spitting the feathers onto the floor in front of his crossed legs.

Bokuto turned his head in the other direction, preferring not to watch Lev tear at the wing of a pigeon, whose wings were a few shades darker than his own.

_*_*_*_

When Daichi stepped into the motel room, he understood exactly what Suga pulled him into it for. His heart sank, but he wasn't sure how much deeper it could sink. Apparently there was still some room in his chest, as he matched Kageyama's eyes glowering at them from between the beds, over Hinata's shoulder. He was cradling him so tightly, Daichi noticed, and he had to swallow to even have a chance at getting words out.

"Just leave him alone." He said to Suga, who looked at him incredulously, looking almost offended if not for the grief on his face. He moved to grab at Daichi's arm.

"Daichi-"

"He's DEAD, Koushi. What's harm is it gonna do to let the kid sit there for a little longer?" Daichi hissed out harshly, tugging his arm away from Suga's hold. Suga flinched, stepping back from him just as abruptly as Daichi had pulled away. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, standing near the bathroom, looked at Daichi with equally wide eyes. Daichi's breath caught in his throat, and he felt immediate regret rip into him as Suga let out a sob and pressed his hands over his mouth in a weak attempt to hold it in.

Daichi felt it, he'd raised his wings at the love of his life, and he'd never made him look like that before. "K-Kou, I didn't--Fuck, I didn't mean that." He reached out, but Suga turned away from him, walking off toward the bathroom and slamming the door. Daichi heard the lock click, and thought it best to leave him.

"You meant it."

Daichi looked up to Tsukishima, who was holding a trembling Yamaguchi's face in his neck, glaring at the older male. "It's the truth." The blond hissed, and guided Yamaguchi over to the bed they shared the night before. Daichi felt like he would be sick. How could he say something like that? Something that was so inhuman, so horrible.  
He couldn't bring himself to roll his gaze over to Kageyama, even though he could feel his glare.

He could hear Suga sobbing, and he decided that for now, sinking down against the wall and letting his tears go would be the best use of his time. What could they do but wallow as they had already been doing?

_*_*_*_

**[NIGHT]**

It was dark outside when Daichi heard a knock at their door. He knew he'd fallen asleep in this same spot beside the door, because in the dark of the motel room, he could hear four others breathing when he knew they hadn't been there before. There was a small scent, different than earlier. Fuck, it was Hinata. Daichi almost couldn't describe the smell, it surprisingly wasn't as strong as it should have been by now.  
Oranges. But...as if they had started to spoil. Not rotted just yet, but they were getting there quickly. He was pretty sure a corpse shouldn't smell like _that_. But what did _he _know?

Right, the door--Daichi forced himself up to his feet, using the wall as support so he didn't immediately collapse from the lack of blood flow to his shins and feet. The pins and needles were uncomfortable, but he'd withstood so much worse. Daichi peered through the peephole to see that it was Yaku on the other side, covered up in a blanket to combat the cold.

Daichi opened the door slowly, his limbs heavy and causing him to drag. He truly didn't understand how he sat there for an entire day, but considering he hadn't slept the night before, or the night before that...it made sense. It made even more sense that he was still fucking exhausted. "Is everything okay?" He muttered hoarsely, eyeing the snow rather than his visitor's face.

Yaku fidgeted in the snow--probably from cold feet--and adjusted the blanket around his neck. "We're ready to go if you all are. Sugawara said it wouldn't take you very long." He said. Daichi looked up then, and turned around when he heard shuffling behind him.

Suga was helping Kageyama stand up with Hinata still in his arms. Everyone was readying themselves to step out the door, and Daichi only knew that because the lights from the parking lot were illuminating the room through the open door. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi stepped past him quickly with their bags, and their eyes avoiding him.

Suga handed Daichi his own bag, and his eyes were soft. Daichi couldn't be more grateful for that. "You needed sleep, and we can't stay here." Suga whispered. Daichi decided not to argue. Not about leaving the motel, not about being trapped in that car for who knows how many more hours. Not about Hinata's corpse that Kageyama was carrying out to the car with such a lonely expression on his face.  
Not about Asahi climbing into the driver seat again. Because he couldn't do it anymore.

It was snowing again tonight, and for the first time, Kageyama thought it looked beautiful. For the first time, he noticed it. He hadn't noticed the night before, when he found out that Hinata was...gone.  
The wind stung his eyes, but it was fine. Even though it made his eyes tear up and his vision go blurry. Hinata no longer weighed anything in his grasp. He never really had, but now it was like there was no weight. Like Hinata's weight had become part of his own.

Kageyama hadn't kept Hinata's face covered, not since he slipped Hinata into his arms while everyone was asleep, and held onto him on the floor. That had been completely impulsive. Truthfully, Kageyama didn't even remember doing it. He just remembered Hinata being in his arms. He remembered squeezing him. Kageyama, with his tearful eyes, his flushed nose, and his ever so secure hold, looked down at Hinata's white face. He wasn't sure which tears were wind and which were pain then.

His feet continued to walk through the snow, slowly, there was no rush. He didn't feel the cold, for it blew past him. The same tears streaking over his cheeks right now were the same tears that he used to wash away the blood on Hinata's face. That and his hands. He'd gotten it all. But it didn't change anything. Hinata never moved. He never twitched, he never grinned, his lips never moved to thank him. He never smiled. Snowflakes were drifting into Hinata's red locks--they were no longer soft--and sticking to his cold skin. Kageyama had tried to warm said skin desperately the entire day.

Kageyama's bottom lip quivered, but he didn't make a noise. He adjusted Hinata higher so he was close to his face, and he lowered his forehead, resting it against that of the one he had lost. With every step he took, he dreaded having to get in the car. Having to put Hinata down. Having to leave him eventually.

At the white van, the felines watched him walk so solemnly. The snow was building up in his feathers, and he should have been freezing considering they couldn't stand the cold themselves. But he didn't seem fazed in the slightest. The group had layered the back of the plumber's van with two of their blankets, and even though it probably wouldn't help with warmth, the surface was too hard for comfort.

Kenma flinched when someone touched his shoulder, tearing his gaze away and looking back at Kuroo, whose eyes were soft and knowing. Kenma turned away, his dark hair falling into his eyes. He did as he was so silently told and climbed into the back of the van, trying all the while to keep his awful deja vu and memories from causing his anxiety to spiral out of control.


End file.
